Misguided
by SongSiren
Summary: Cyborg saves a girl from a fall. A friendship and deeper feelings grow. What happens when the city is too small and his heart is too large to stay away? CyobrgxOc some: RobxStar, BBxRaeven
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi everyone! This is the new, improved Misguided, and it will be slightly different from the other one, so prepare yourselves. And if you are a new reader, welcome and please ignore everything you just read.**

**In this story, I'm imagining the Teens as a little bit older, about eighteen. If you don't like it, you can just pretend differently.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or any of the books mentioned here. Oh well.**

"This is soooo boring!" moaned Beast Boy.

"Then go get a comic book," said Cyborg testily.

The Titans had decided to go out to the library for the day, as there seemed to be an unusual moment of quiet. They must have put away quite a few 'baddies' this month. Or the police force of Jump City was finally becoming more competent.

Cyborg tried to balance the three hefty books he had gotten (all on the themed around cars) while he looked for his friends. He saw Starfire playing with children in their section; Robin was in the sports section flipping through some karate books. It seemed Raven disappeared. Thus began the search between the seemingly endless rows and rows of books. Just as he was getting frustrated, he finally found her sitting at a small study table, a mountain of books towering over her head.

"Hey Rae, we gotta g…" he was cut off by a raucous nearby.

As he looked around, he was surprised to see Control Freak sitting, hands cupped, on one knee. In front of him was a young woman dressed in normal civilian clothes (which normally would go without saying, but with Control Freak and the Teen Titans at the library it was worth noticing), with her hands on her hips. The only discernable features about her were her unusual dark, long hair, and her unusual height for a female. From the distance, Cyborg could tell that she could probably head-butt the chin on his six-foot-seven frame. Control Freak seemed to be pleading with her.

"Come on, Kale! What's wrong with me? I'm…"

The girl standing in front of him cut him off, "What's wrong with you is that you're a self-absorbed couch potato, you don't care for any type of literature that is not being transmitted via satellite, you consider walking from your apartment to the grocery store exercise, and you don't even try to better yourself or help people in anyway!" She seemed to calm down, putting her hand on her hip and balancing a few books on her other hip. She brushed her black hair away from her face. "Besides, this is probably the first time you've been to a library in years!"

Ignoring the stares from all around (except Raven, Cyborg noticed, he doubted she had even heard him since he had first spoke to her), the girl turned on her heel and marched towards a high shelf. She climbed up a ladder to the top. Cyborg watched as Control Freak ran around the ladder and shelf, to the other side. He saw the fat little man climb up the ladder on the other side. Cyborg had a sinking put feeling in his stomach that this would not end well. Subconsciously, he tensed his leg and arm 'muscles'. As the girl pulled back a book, she saw Control Freak's face. Surprised, she fell from the ladder with a scream.

Cyborg moved fast. He caught the girl and the books she was holding. Her dark hair swirled around her suntanned face. Cyborg had just a moment to stare at her violet eyes as she recovered fast from her terror.

She said shakily. "Thanks, dude. I really owe you."

Cyborg smiled and set her down as he said, "Don't mention it." He glanced down at the books as he handed them back to her. "Six copies of To Kill A Mocking Bird, three copies of Nanacy Drew and the Scarlet Hand, two copies of Treasure Island, and one copy of Motor Awarness." At the last title, Cyborg looked up at her, surprised, "You like cars?"

She blushed a little. "Um, well, I guess. One of my teachers wants me to write an essay on cars. It kind of stinks because I know basically nothing about cars, and all the books are getting me nowhere."

Cyborg smiled at the chance to expound his knowledge on a subject. "Well, I could show you a few choice titles, if you want. I know a lot about cars."

She brightened immediately. "Oh, you could? I'd be really grateful; I'm really having trouble with this, and I don't have much time." As if remembering the subject of time, the girl began to look around wildly for a clock, which the library was sorely lacking.

Cyborg shrugged, "Sure, if you want I could explain som…"

"Nooooo!!" Control Freak jumped up in front of them, waving his arms madly. "Nooo!! Kale, what about me? What about our love?" he asked, teary-eyed, latching himself onto her leg.

She looked down at him and said coolly, "You're a sad, strange little man." She wiggled her leg until he was shaken off.

Control Freak hung his head. "I know." He sniffed.

She turned her attention back to Cyborg. "Let's go before he floods the place. He'll calm down once he finds the DVD section."

They walked in a (seemingly) random direction. Control Freak's melodramatic sobbing faded quickly.

They walked past a few aisles before Cyborg said, "By the way, my name's Cyborg."

She stopped walking, smiled and extended her hand, balancing the books in one arm. "Kale Aster, nice to meet you." She scowled. "Um, are green spiders poisonous?" She asked, pointing to his shoulder.

Cyborg flicked it off. "B, go tell everyone to go get a pizza. I'll meet you guys there."

As Beast Boy changed back, Kale squeaked and jumped behind an impressive (and most likely, fake) vase. She seemed to realize a moment later that the green boy was one of Cyborg's friends, and tentatively stepped back out. She made an attempt at smiling warmly. Beast boy took a moment to make sure Cyborg saw his raised eyebrow, which he did, then left grumbling something about everyone having a girl but him.

Cyborg and Kale walked around for a few more minutes, books stacked high in the girl's hands. "Uh, Cyborg?" Kale asked after him quietly. Cyborg turned around to see instead of her head, an old copy of Cars' most Incredible Feats. "Can we stop?"

Laughing outrageously, Cybog lifted the books from her rather skinny arms and set them at a table. Kale collapsed into a chair, and, upon seeing him shaking with quiet laughter, she raised an eyebrow. "Oh laugh it up, funny boy. See if I ever help you with a huge stack of books." She crossed her arms and turned away in mock anger. Her eye peered around. She eyes his muscles (which he, as a teenager, immediately flexed under scrutiny) and seemed to deflate a little. "You know what? Never mind."

Still laughing, Cyborg sat across from her. The wall next to them was made up of windows, and Cyborg noticed that her eyes seemed more purple than violet when the sun hit them.

"I guess we'd better start at the top." Kale reached for the top book.

They sat for a little while, Kale reading out loud and Cyborg helping her when she got stuck, which was often. When a giant clock at the other end of the library went off, Kale's head snapped up.

"Ohhh… no! I'm going to be late." Flustered, she started to scoop all the books she had had and three of the books that Cyborg had been able to help her through with minimal effort, into her arms.

Cyborg grabbed five books. "Hey, do you need a ride? Sorry I kept you late."

Kale shook her head, her dark waves flying. "No problem. But, yeah, I do need a ride. If you wouldn't mind, I'm really sorry about all the trouble I've caused you today."

Cyoborg shook his head, shrugging. "No problem. I don't get to make a lot of new friends, since I'm at the Tower so much." (They had, among speaking of cars, moved to the T-car, then the Tower, and finally the Teen Titans themselves).

They started forward, but Cyborg looked behind him when Kale said, "Man, I might not know much about cars, but I do know that you're not supposed to do _that._"

Cyborg looked out the window and his face dropped, along with the books. "Man, I know those runts aren't messing with my car!" He charged out of the building hollering his head off.

A few minutes later, after Cyborg had chased the two boys who had been spray painting the car orange up and down two city blocks, and had spent quite a lot of that time crying over 'his baby', he remembered he had left Kale. Jogging, back inside, he found her with a bored look on her face as the old woman checked out each of the books with painstaking slowness.

She smiled at him. "Hey. I didn't know if you were coming back."

Cyborg rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, well, they were spray paintin' my baby, I had to teach them a lesson."

"Yeah I guess you did." Kale said, starting to place the books in a large bag at her hip, smiling good-naturedly, not at all angered that he had pretty much ditched her for a car.

As he saw the Nancy Drew, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Treasure Island, books, he said, "Aren't those a little young for you. And how come you got so many?"

Kale flashed a smile at him as she dumped the last of the books into the bag. "I teach literature over at the orphanage. We don't have a lot of books, so I go out every once in awhile.That's why I'm so late, I gotta be there in, like, fifteen minutes."

Cyborg took the bags and jogged back outside, shouting over his shoulder, "Come on, I'll give you a ride."

Kale hesitated only a second (then the clock gonged again, marking the half hour) before going outside. Cyborg was surprised to find she was an extremely fast runner and got to the car before him. They drove along, Kale explaining that she had started to teach at the **Jump City's East Side Orphanage **a year and a half ago, while taking up a college course.

"And before you came to the orphanage?" Cyborg asked conversationally.

Kale was silent. Cyborg looked across the seat and saw her eyes were a very dark purple, and it wasn't because of the dimming light. When she spoke, her voice was low. "I can't remember. I woke up on a cliff one day and hitched a ride on a mule cart, then went wherever I thought was good, though most of the times I was running away from something bad. The only reason I remember my name in this ring I found on my finger. Really, my name might not be Kale Aster, but I've always assumed it was and it feels right for me. When I tried to find my parents by asking the locals, everyone in a nearby village gave me strange looks until some old woman told me they probably perished in a battle on the hillside. Then I just left. At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do."

"It probably was." Cyborg said softly, remembering how he had left the scientist that had turned him into a metal man. Neither wanting to leave on a bad note or just let the silence between them lay Cyborg said, "Well alright, how's the orphanage."

Kale brightened immediately, and she laughed and joked with him about the things the children do to their teachers and how she did secret things for them so they were not unnecessarily unhappy. That is, until she told Cyborg to turn left instead of right.

"Cyborg, what're you doing? We have to turn left here." Kale said when she saw which way the blinker was pointing.

"Really? They built an orphanage down this street?" Cyborg's eyebrows knitted together.

Kale sighed. "Yep. Now I know what you're thinking. The East Side's bad enough, but this is the worst block in the entire city. And it's true, but these kids aren't bad… they're just misguided."

"I'm sure they're all fine." Cyborg said, even though he was not.

Cyborg saw where to go immediately. It was a large graffitied house that had probably been there since people settled in the city centuries ago. Large pipes barred windows and there were probably old wooden or steel hooks on the other side of the story-high doors missing a single, large wooden bar that was meant to keep out crusaders and marauders.

Despite the building's historical architecture, it was not a pretty sight. There was trash strewn about the front and sides; wet newspapers stuck to the bottom of the building like plaster. One window was broken and a bar had been ripped from its place. Fragments of pipe and glass littered the street. The playground was red with rust and in poor condition; the monkey-bars' bars were all but gone in most places, the slide was dented (Cyborg sincerely doubted that kids could have done the damage there) and the merry-go-round creaked eerily, a can of Coors in the center. Outside, on steps that were dusty with dead leaves and exhaust, a nun was shooing away two men whose (like many of those who had been broken over the years) age could not be guessed.

Kale didn't let the obvious poor condition of the orphanage daunt her, nor did she seem embarrassed as the T-car's shining surfaces gained the attention of almost everyone around. Cyborg noted here that there was an astonishing amount of teenagers that were not in school, despite the fact that he was sure there was one less than a mile or two away and that the truant department, which was found in the police department, was closer than that.

As soon as the car stopped, Kale jumped out and put her hand out for the books, stuttering over thank-yous and goodbyes. Cyborg handed the bag to her and ignored the surprised look on her face when he got out of the car too, carrying the books that would not fit in her bag. They walked inside, neither of them paying much attention to their conversation about the best kinds of ice creams to give kids.

Kale nodded amiably to the nun at the door, who smiled slightly, before turning back to the two men who were bothering her. As Cyborg saw Kale's back disappear, he turned the men.

"Y'all got to the count of five to get your butts out of here!" He said, smiling evilly. The men looked at each other for a moment before running, their backs fast vanishing down the block.

"Thank-you, young sir. God Bless You."

"Er…. You too," Cyobrg answered, slightly uncomfortable.

Before the accident, he would go with his mother every Sunday, though he never really got into it. It was more a practice to appease his mother than anything. When he joined the Teen Titans, he tried to keep up with it, but soon he went less and less, and eventually, he stopped altogether.

"Ah. You're young Kale's friend, eh?" the nun asked, as if she had not just seen him get out of the car with her.

Cyborg nodded mutely, slightly intimidated by the hunched old woman.

"She's nawt a believer. She will come to church, but I ken tell she does nawt enjoy it. She does not speak of the Bible outside of church, lest she has to.," the woman spoke with a long accent, annunciating her vowels more than usual.

"Cyborg, dude, you comin'?" Kale appeared at the large doorway. "Hi Sister Abril."

The nun nodded at her before taking up a broom that Cyborg had failed to notice.

Kale ran down to him, "Come on, you'd better hurry."

Cyborg looked at her, eye twinkling. "Why should I, you're the one that is late?"

Kale closed her eyes, put her finger in the air and said matter-of-factually, "Ah, but if you wish to beat me, you'll have to run fast." Without another word, she raced up the steps.

It took Cyborg half a second to process what she had said. "Hey! You'd get back here!"

When Cyborg won (for even though Kale was fast, she was no match for him), he did a little victory dance, before Kale dumped her share of the books on him, declaring that the 'winner carries books'.

They walked down the narrow entrance hall (Cyborg noticed as the doors closed that he was right, there were two empty brackets on either of the double doors). There were five doors on either side of the hallway, a hallway on the right side of the third doors. Cyborg could see at the end of the hall, there was a large room with an archway replacing the door. He had to press himself to wall with Kale as a nun in a food-stained habit hurried past with a large pot to the archway. Despite the cook's destination, inside, he could see children running, so he assumed that it was a gym and cafeteria.

He followed Kale down the left hallway. There were two doors on either side on the dim hallway, which was even narrower than the first. Kale stopped at the first white door with the paint peeling off on the left side.

"Well, this is where I work," she gestured to the door, "and that is where I live," again she gestured, this time to the second door on the left.

Cyborg stepped in to a scene of chaos. Throughout the room, many small children jumped around and talked. In a small corner in the back of the room sat teenagers (some of them, almost as old as Kale), though comparably less, in almost-silence, many of them nearly perfecting their indifference act and all perfecting their glares.

Cyborg quickly took stock of the room. The walls had been painted, coat over coat, over the years. The original color appeared to be yellow, but someone (most likely Kale herself) had tried paint the room a vibrant green, like the color of maple leaves. There were six rows of desks four desks deep, starting from the back of the room forward. Where the seventh row of desks would be, there were old shelves, about three feet high, under an open window, atop which, there was a small girl with brown braids. There were a few empty desks, but still the room seemed slightly crowded. There were four feet of empty room from the desks to the green chalkboard. On the far wall, there was another white door, which led (Cyborg assumed) to Kale's room. A battered desk was in one corner, and Kale took the books from Cyborg to it without startling the class from their talking and rough-housing.

She seemed extremely out of place, Kale. As she walked back towards Cyborg, she pulled her hair into a ponytail, and placed black thick-rimmed glasses on her face. Still, she wore jeans and a deep blue tee-shirt. Her skin looked as if she had just been to the beach. It did not seem at all professional for a teacher to look like her students, especially surrounded by habit-clad nuns, but it did not seem to bother the few students who had, evidently, noticed her entrance.

"Class, this in Mr. Cyborg. Say hello." Kale called in an imperious but friendly voice.

The smaller children, upon hearing her voice, settled down instantly and returned to their seats, obeying the order both vocal and non, "Hello Mr. Cyborg"

Cyborg smiled and waved, "Hi."

"Class, today we are starting verbs. New for the younger, review for the older," Kale smiled at her rhyme, earning a few chuckles from the younger students. "Get out your workbook. Tommy, will you please hand out a sheet of paper to everyone?"

As the small redhead boy went to obey her order, Kale turned around and walked Cyborg to the door. "Again, thank you so much for your help; I would have been poked to death by the nuns if I was late." She waved her hand to silence Cyborg's reply. "You had better not leave your car out too long. People here don't take too kindly to people with nice stuff, and if they found out it's a Teen Titan's car, then you will be lucky to find the steering wheel."

Before Cyborg could ask her what she meant, she had smiled, thanked him again and closed the door. By the sound of her voice from the other side of the door, she was teaching the class once again. Shrugging it off, he went outside, and sure enough, he had to chase half a dozen cretins off his car. All the way to the pizza place he was wondering about Kale Aster and if he would ever see her again.

**A/N: Duh. Duh. Duh. Will Cyborg ever see Kale again? What will his friends say? Did Tommy hand out all of the papers? Well, how'd everyone like the first chapter? You know what to do. Review! Hey, I'm just like Kale!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So Just like I promised, the next chapter's up. So without further ado, on with the show… err, story, whatever.**

**Again, I'm pretending that the Teen Titans are around 17-18 range and for many people that it considered a man. Calling them 'boys' doesn't feel right. But hey, you're the reader, feel free to interpret it how you will.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, just the awesome name Kale.**

"So…..?" said Beast Boy, as if he was implying something dirty. Cyborg noticed with annoyance that Beast Boy's hands were on the back of his seat.

"Hands off the seat, BB." Cyborg said, smacking the other man's hand away without taking his eyes off the road.

"Oh come on, you're not even going to tell us her name?" Beast Boy whined, slumping back into his seat.

Cyborg's temper was short. His car had been painted and scratched twice that day and he was not in the mood to play games. "Her name is Kale."

"Who is Kale?" Starfire asked from her seat in the center in the back.

"Just a girl I met at the library," Cyborg said shortly, hinting that he wanted to be left alone for the rest of the drive.

Starfire didn't get the hint. "Wonderful! And when will we meet this Kale?"

"I don't know, Star! I just met her, I don't have her number, and all I know about her is that she lives and works at some orphanage," Cyborg said, just barely keeping himself from snapping at her.

"Orphanage? I didn't know Jump City had an orphanage," Robin's voice came out of the intercom, through which he had been listening.

"Well, it does, you've probably never been anywhere near there, though," said Cyborg, remembering what Kale said just before he had left.

"Why?"

Cyborg took a cleansing breath and sighed. "Okay look, it's in a section of town that the Teen Titans don't generally go in. There are no bad guys there, because there is nothing to steal. Control Freak, and Johnny Rancid lived there when they were babies, both stole a bunch of stuff and got their butts out of there as soon as possible."

Raven, sensing the tiredness in her friend's voice, quickly asked everyone what books they got, though she could not sound less enthused. Each of them had a rather long list, so Cyborg didn't have to say anything all the way back to the Tower.

Walking into his room, he fell into an old comfy chair he used to have at his old house. Sighing deeply he said to himself, "What are you doing to yourself, man?"

He slept there for a few hours before he moved to his metal bed. He powered down for the night.



When he woke up in the morning, he heard a loud banging at the door.

"Friend, have you awakened? I have had the most glorious news." Starfire's voice floated cheerfully into his room.

Cyborg groaned as he lifted himself off the metal 'bed'.

He opened the door to Starfire practically bouncing with joy and look up at him with bright, kitten-like eyes. It was way too early for her perkiness.

"What's up Starfire?"

Starfire's voice was bubbling with excitement, "Robin said that there is a fair in town. It is the called **Illusion Festival** and we get to go!"

Cyborg thought for a minute. "The **Illusion Festival**? That's the carnival where all those pickpockets and perves come to town and take everyone's money… and other things?" he added after a moment's pause.

"Yes, we will have to do _some _monitoring." Starfire said, floating down to the floor. She smiled brightly, any thoughts unable to keep her down, "But robin says we have to blend in with the crowd to catch the thieves. Hurry, it is time for breakfast."

Cyborg brightened at the prospect of breakfast, "All right! I want waffles, and bacon and sausage and eggs and waffles and o.j, and waffles…" he said following his once-again floating friend.



Cyborg was starting to regret his former enthusiasm. The festival seemed to have cleaned up, and because he was constantly on guard, he could not enjoy any of the attractions. His stomach growled. He picked up the communicator.

"Yo, Rob? Man, when are we going home for some lunch?" he yelled into the device, more to mess with his friend than anything.

"Sorry, Cyborg. We're staying for the long haul. Do whatever you want; just be on the alert. And don't use the communicator. We don't want anyone to know we're Titans."

Cyborg saw a girl-shaped shadow pass under him. "Then you better check your girl." He flipped the communicator closed, cutting off Robin's stuttered denial. Sighing, he said to himself, "Sure, no one's going to notice a one hundred eighty pound mechanical man."

Then, reminding himself that this _was _a circus, he went off to have some fun.



A few hours later, Cyborg's regret from before rose up again as he stifled a yawn. The sun had set and he had been to every attraction twice. He met up with his friends a few times, but Robin thought it was a good idea to stay apart. Cyborg had a feeling there was something more to Robin's fear of this carnival than met the eye. Especially when he saw Robin reaching for his belt when a clown comically kissed him on the cheek.

The carnival was crowded now, and Cyborg could admit it was definitely more exciting. In the daytime, it had been too dusty and hot for the normal person. The fact that it was desrted and still littered with trash did not help the fact. During the twilight hours, closed stalls opened and the fair looked much more exciting with the lights lit and the masters energized after a boring and sleepy day. He decided to get on the line for the Ferris Wheel, a ride that was relaxing and fitted Robin's need to remain vigilant. As he stepped on line, he heard a familiar, laughing voice sounded behind him.

"Well there's my knight in blue amour."

Cyborg turned towards the voice. He could not believe it. Flanked by two small children, there she was. She was dressed in a dark blue tank top and plaid T-shirt still opened, with the same old dark jeans and her hair worn down. The girl that he had almost hoped all day that would just 'pop' out of nowhere, at least to relive him of some amount of his boredom.

"Kale?"

"Hey Cyborg," Kale walked to the end of the line, motioning to the two little kids on either side of her, "this is Tommy and Adelaide." Cyborg recognized the bright red hair of Tommy, who had passed out papers that day in class.

"Kids from yer class?" Cyborg asked smiling at them.

Kale beamed at him, seeming to be happy he remembered. "Yup. I take a few kids up here for a treat every year, and they're the only ones who haven't gone yet."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence, but Kale didn't seem to mind. She smiled and occasionally touched Adelaide on the shoulder or ruffled Tommy's hair (much to the dismay of the boy). The line moved quickly, as many people were going on with their friends and there was more room than Cyborg had first anticipated. When they were next in line, Cyborg could hear Kale talking to the kids, trying to get them excited rather than scared of going up so high.

"Single?" The conductor asked happily.

"Yeah," Cyborg said, forking over some money. He held his hand out for the change.

The conductor eyed his robotic hand for a moment, and then said brightly, "Sorry, no change sir."

Cyborg stepped into the cart sullenly. He watched from his place as Kale and the children jumped the foot space to the cat, Kale putting one foot on solid ground and one in the cart to haul Aldelaide across the gap. The Wheel started a few minutes later and for some reason, Cyborg didn't like the way the conductor was acting. He was a young kid, and after Cyborg had got on, more young people were jogging to meet him. He soon found out why.

The Wheel started to go up, it was creaky and his cart swayed a lot. He heard the laughter of fair-goers all around him. He scanned the bright red fair below him. As he was neared the top, he heard a foreboding creak and crack and felt the wheel sway to the right. Sparks jumped from the axle and the right side of his face was really hot. His alarms were going off for himself, his surroundings, and his friends. Then, in an almost out-of-body experience, he realized several things at once.

He could hear children below him crying.

There were women screaming.

The axle was on fire.

Acting quickly, Cyborg jumped out of his seat and swung to the carriage behind his own. He took the two passengers out and left them the highest he could leave them so they could climb the rest of the way down.

The fire was creeping up and he had done four more carts in little time at all. There were only six more to go, but they were on the other side of the fire. He heard shouts of the fire men and more children screaming as he jumped over the flames. The first cart he opened was empty and he nearly froze when he heard a voice above him.

"Come on now, it'll be alright." Kale was holding a small child and was being followed by two adults. She stopped when she saw him. "Cyborg, there's one more cart left, but there's a lot o people in it. Go!" She jumped down, landing nicely on the wide pole beneath them.

Cyborg could have sworn his heart skipped a beat as he watched Kale jump through the maze of poles and spitting sparks. She spared another glance at him, and when she saw him frozen, glared and mouthed 'go'.

Cyborg, startled by screams of the group in the cart ahead, resolved to yell at her later, and climbed as fast as he could. The sparks were still jumping and he could feel them hitting his legs. Kale had been right. There were seven teenage girls in the top cart. He wrenched the door open. He sent two of the bolder ones on their way down, shrieking every time the axle flickered.

Things were bad. Five of the girls were frozen stiff, more than half of them hysterically crying. The axle could explode any moment, bringing every on the Wheel to their fiery deaths. And he could hear Kale coming up.

"Get down there!" he yelled, but Kale ignored him

"Cyborg, drop them down to me!" Kale yelled, her eyes burning with bright determination.

Cyborg was incredulous. "Are you crazy?"

"Don't worry! I've got an idea." Her face was begging him to trust her.

The axle groaned.

Cyborg, praying that this idea would pay off, took the smallest girl (who was, luckily, one of the ones who was staying as calm as possible) like a rag doll and aiming her towards Kale. Gritting his teeth because he could not shut his eyes against what he was sure to be the girl's death, he dropped her.

Kale caught her, but just barely. He saw Kale yelling, but the wheel was swaying again and he dropped another girl. The two below him caught her, and sent her on her way. He dropped the other two, both who were caught by the others below. Kale sent them downward and Cyborg jumped the first twenty feet down to her. Kale coughed and looked lightheaded. Without a word, Cyborg slipped an arm around her waist and jumped down to safety with the girl in his arms.

**A/N: Hey, did anyone like the second chapter. Please, for the sake of chocolate, review! I got double stuffed oreos… Please?**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I got another review. I got another review. Wow. I'm really pathetic if I'm excited for getting one review. Oh well, there is nothing I can do about it. But you can!! I bet you guys are enjoying watching me tear my hair out trying to get my new character to work. Sickos.**

**Disclaimer: I don't think I can feed Cyborg and Beast boy any more. What? I don't own you? Get out you bunch of moochers! **

Cyborg was able to get himself and Kale down to the ground, with minimal strain on his mechanical muscles. As soon as they cleared the firemen's 'safety zone', Cyborg rounded on Kale.

"Why did you do that? If you had gotten hurt I would have had to save you," Cyborg exclaimed.

**Ssssccrreecch!**

With an awful metal scream, the Ferris Wheel's axle exploded in one last burst of sparks and. The entire wheel collapsed in on itself. All surrounding watched in morbid fascination as the wheel's own weight reduced it to nothing more than a smoldering pile of rubbish. Cyborg allowed his tense muscles to relax as the fire fighters took over, spraying water every which way. For the moment, there was nothing to worry about. Except this absurdly brave girl.

Kale took her eyes away from the scene before them and smiled daringly at Cyborg, "There. At the speed you were going, you wouldn't have gotten to the last two carts. Now everyone is safe."

Cyborg didn't like the way her purple eyes were glaring at him, but could not ignore the fact that she was right, so he grunted, "Just don't do it again."

Kale's voice became hard, "And why shouldn't I? The fire fighters do it. Cops do it. You do it," she said angrily.

"Yeah but you're just a…"

Kale's eyes widened slightly in irritation as she kept her voice at a normal tone, containing the anger that Cyborg knew was boiling inside her. "Just a what, Cyborg? Just a girl? Just a citizen? Just someone who needs protecting? I'll have you know that I'm not nearly as weak as you seem to think…"

She stopped what was sure to be a very lengthy tirade as a grubby hand grabbed her pant leg. "Miss Kale? I gotta go potty and Adelaide won't stop crying in my ear." Tommy said in a tattletale voice as he pointed at the small girl.

Kale's features softened and she scooped Adelaide up and soothingly rubbed her back, crooning softly, "It's okay. There, there. It's okay." She took Tommy by the hand while cradling Adelaide with the other. "Let's go find you a potty."

With that, she melted back in with the crowd without another word to Cyborg.

Cyborg watched her leave with his mouth gaping wide, unbelieving that she had reacted the way she did. _What's her problem? All I'm trying to do is keep her safe! _

Before his thoughts could go any farther, Robin's voice yelled over the communicator. "Cyborg hurry! We're all being attacked!"

Cyborg looked at the communicator to the way Kale went and back again. He felt like he was making a descion that he would regret sometime in the near future as he said, "I'm on it."

And ran towards his friends.



Kale waited outside the bathroom stall, her mind wandering. For safety's sake, she had brought Adelaide inside the bathroom with her.

Every time a fair-goer came in, Kale would glare at them before they had a chance to touch the zipper of their pants. The carnival people were a bit less cautious than this, giving her toothless smiles as they patted a certain place on their person suggestively. Kale would then have Adelaide's attention averted elsewhere for all of ten seconds to show the man exactly why it was that Kale was able to walk the East Side's worst blocks without fear. No one came in after a few men were sent out.

Still, the little girl tried not to look around her, even though there was no one in the bathroom. It was for the best, anyway. Hardly any of the toilets were flushed, there was excrement from both human and beast on the floor, and the urinals were broken. The last thing she needed was Adelaide's curious seven-year-old hands touching things.

Of course, as Kale's mind wandered, it soon came back to what had put her into such a temper to actually physically hurt someone (although, admittedly, he had deserved it). Cyborg.

_What's his problem? Those people wouldn't have gotten out in time and he knows it! _She clenched her teeth. She did not know why she even cared, anyway. Cyborg was just some guy that she had met and heard nothing but degrading things about; granted, those degrading things were often from people who were jealous, angry, drunk or any combination of the three. And those thoughts _had _been directed more towards the Teen Titans in general.

Still, she could not help the random angry thoughts that ran as fast as lightening through her head and if she had listened to them, had she been a normal girl, tears would have been running down her cheeks. She, not being normal and had not cried since she came to Jump City, was not going to start now over some guy she just met.

"Miss Kale, I want to go home!" Adelaide cried out suddenly.

Kale put on a face of mock surprise, "What!? You want to go home already?" She spread her arms wide as if gesturing to the entire world around her, "Come on, the night is still young! We can go and get a pizza, my treat."

"I want to go get pizza!" Tommy shouted, coming out of the stall, zipping up his jeans.

"Let's go. Who wants extra cheese?" Kale took both the children by the hands and they headed off to the pizza place, where both children complained loudly as they were forced to wash their hands under Kale's strict supervision.

**A/N: Sorry about the short chapter, but I wanted to end on a note that shows you Kale's inner strength because all we've seen is her goody-goody side.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi peoples**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans**

Cyborg sat back on the couch, settling his feet on the shoe-scuffed coffee table. He turned on the relaxing, mind-numbing, television. Unfortunately, a certain _someone_ (at this point, he had slid a glare over to where Robin was sitting at the table, angrily trying to scrape some sort of green gunk out of his weapons) had left the news was on and the Ferris Wheel was just being shown.

When his glaring failed to impose either Robin or the television, Cyobrg turned it off and listened to the grumbles of his companions. Apparently, thinking back on it, all the Titans had seen teenagers working the rides. Once the rides had started, they had each seen the workers be joined by other teenagers. Hearing the news about the teenagers, Cyborg had the itching feeling he should ask Kale about this, but he did not want to see her again, not after the insulted look she had given him.

"Awww man. Do you _know _how long it's going to take me to get this out of my hair?" Beast Boy whined loudly. He had been the only one not on an actual ride. Instead, a cotton-candy server (of course, he was a teenager) had been serving him. Somehow, Beast Body had been convinced into his rat form and had gone into the cotton candy mixture. Needless to say, he was unable to extract himself.

"Shut up, Beast Boy. We have other things to think about, man., Cyborg said irritably. This was getting to be a habit, this getting riled at any little thing after seeing Kale.

"Yeah. Like why a bunch of teenagers are out to get us," Raven appeared next to them Cyborg and Beast Boy, her silent walking serving her well. Her eyes and cape glowed for a moment, and all the soot that had been the result of an 'accidental' roller coaster accident seemed to burn itself away.

After a few minutes, Cyborg caught her staring at him so intensely that he felt like he had to glare back at her. "What?" he snapped.

"You have that face on. That face when you want to say something, but you're not sure if you should." Raven replied emotionlessly, as if she did not care too much whether or not he disclosed what was going on in his minds.

Robin, who was wringing out his cape from a capsized boat and an eventual collapse of the Tunnel of Love (needless to say, a certain red-haired alien was doing likewise), looked up from his task. "What's up Cyborg? Are you all right? Do you know who did this to us?" he asked in his usual I'm-going-to-crack-these-criminals voice that Cyborg found really exasperating at the moment.

"Yeah… sort of ," Cyborg muttered after a moment of hesitation.

"So…?" Robin asked impatiently.

Cyborg stood up. His mind rattled with things said and unsaid that evening and he needed some time to think. "I'll go out on a lead in the morning."

Robin, surprisingly, caught on to Cyborg's exhaustion and said quietly, "I think that's a good idea. Titans, get some rest. We'll do some extra chores and get some paperwork done that we're behind on tomorrow."

This was met with a groan, but the Titans slunk off to bed, each dreading the next morning for the chores to come. Some more than others.



Cyborg awoke early the next morning and set out of the Tower for the long journey to **Jump City's East Side Orphanage**. He did not put any music on; he needed silence to mentally prepare himself for what he was going to say to Kale to get her to talk to him.

He arrived at the orphanage. This time, he covered the car with a tarp, just in case some of the teenagers from last night or the last time he had been there paid an unexpected visit to the orphanage. Before he knocked on the door, Cyborg noticed that from the last time he had been there, another bar (though the first was halfway down the street) and much more glass from the same window had been knocked onto the pavement. Shrugging, he grabbed the brass knocker and hit it against the door once before it opened.

An old, small nun stood there before him. "Do you have business here?" she asked brusquely.

"Yeah, I'm here to see…"

"If you're here to see the boys, then I'll assure you you'll not be able to see them they're both in trouble for what you all did last night," she interrupted.

"No, I'm here to see… wait, last night? You mean at the _**Illusion Festival**_?" Cyobrg asked, focusing more on the old woman.

The nun fumbled in her robes until she found a pair of thick glasses. She blinked twice before her wrinkled face broke out into a smile, "Hey, you're one of those do-gooders, the Teen Titans. Let me say I think you guys are wonderfu…"

"Think, lady. Did one of your kids have something to do with last night?" Cyborg demanded impatiently.

The nun's eye widened and she let out a small squeak. She hurried behind the huge door and Cyborg heard it locking. A section of the door slid open, so Cyborg could only see the woman's thin lips. "Sorry, sir. Kale's told me not to let you in."

"What! Why?" The door slid closed.

Muttering oaths under his breath, Cyborg went back to his car. He was relieved to find that the car had not been discovered. He obviously would not be able to talk to Kale here, but perhaps he could find out where her usual haunts were, so he might be able to corner her somewhere in the city. He drove faster than he should have and ran a few lights. He was lucky the cops were busy somewhere else in the city.

Cyborg stopped at the library. He asked the librarian if Kale had come in lately.

"Sorry, sir, Miss Kale hasn't come in, but you're not the only one looking for her." The middle-aged woman behind the counter smiled pleasantly.

"What do you mean?" he asked. As far as he knew, Kale was teaching five days a week and grading papers the rest of the time.

"Oh, I don't know. Some fat kid. You, know, kids are getting bigger and bigger these days, but he was a porker," the woman waved her pink-tipped fake nails arily.

"What else did he look like?" Cyborg was partly disgusted by his almost immediate clinginess, but he reasoned that it was perfectly logical to want to make sure no one was stalking his new friend.

"Um…. Orange-red hair, trench coat, goes into rants about himself…" The woman doddered on.

"That's Control Freak," Cyborg announced confidently.

"Oh, that's his name. I always get so _embarrassed_ when people talk to me and I don't know their name like this one time with my aunt's cousin's nephew….."

Cyborg left the woman talking about people he didn't know. He got into his car despairingly. He realized he had been calling Kale 'friend' and had only known her for two days and thought that because he hadn't heard about things beside school and the library, he thought she did nothing else. _Besides going to fairs. _



The girl in question at the moment was having a very difficult time. She ran the streets, her eyes wide open, looking for a boy with brown hair and a bright red shirt, Jack, and a boy with black hair dressed completely in black, Hal.

She had brought Jack and Hal out to talk to them and buy them lunch. They had seemed very upset that she was taking them out. Now, after she had tried to talk to them, they had disappeared through the bathroom window. Kale stopped and closed her eyes, looking for clues as to what had happened.



_"Hal, go get Jack. We're going out," Kale had called from beneath the spiraling staircase._

_When the two came downstairs, Hal had said, "Miss Kale, really, we don't want to go out. We have chores and then we want to take a rest."_

_"Yeah… so Kale, leave us alone," Jack had added. _

_He refused to call Kale by the formal and traditional 'miss' because she was seventeen and he was eighteen. In fact, he showed her very little respect at all. Of course, like all children, he was welcome at the orphanage until he got on his feet._

_"No, boys, I _want_ you to come with me." Kale said, smiling nicely. She had used the voice she had picked up from the nuns._

_An hour later, they were in a Chinese restaurant, the boys not eating what they ordered and she not having ordered at all. The boys were sending anxious glances at the clock._

_"So, boys. I was the fair last night," Kale had started slowly. She noticed Hal jumped in his seat. "I was on the Ferris Wheel with Adelaide and little Tommy when it fell over."_

_This time it was not only Hal who jumped. _

"_There are a lot of misguided people in this world, doing things to hurt others, to fix what is wrong just for the people around them," she continued. "What they don't realize is that they are hurting the very people they are trying to protect."_

_"Maybe the people thought that it was the only way," Jack muttered. _

_Kale looked at him. "Yes," she said slowly. "Those who have given up are doing these things, and last night it was close. But the Teen Titans are still there. They are still going to fight those who are greedy. And the ones who are trying to stop that need to realize that just because they are sad, or angry," Kale caught Jack's eye, "doesn't mean they should give in to the manipulative ones. In fact, it should be a reason to try and fix the problem. And if they can't, they should try to make it better."_

_"I gotta go to the bathroom," Jack said, quickly. _

"_You are excused," Kale said, picking up her tea cup and tipping it as if taking a long drought. As Jack left, he gave Hal a look neither of them knew Kale caught._

_After a few minutes, Kale, becoming impatient and knowing completely what was happening said, "I wonder what's taking him so long."_

_Hal stood. "I'll go and check on him," he said loudly._

_When Hal's back had disappeared behind the door, Kale signaled the waitress. "Hey, we're done here. Here's the money. By the way, does your men's bathroom have a window?"_

_The waitress looked surprised. "Why, yes, we do."_

_Kale dumped the money on the table and got outside in time to see the boys run down the street. Kale ran slowly after them. She wanted to see the other boys that had a hand in last night._



Now after following them for a half hour, Kale had lost sight of the boys, despite the brightness of Jack's shirt. It was more crowded now that the schools and work had let out.

Sighing in frustration, she went down an alley to escape the noise and confusion. She saw a rusty fire escape. An idea forming in her head, she climbed up the escape faster than she thought she could and much faster than the old man on the street that had seen her thought possible.

When she was on the roof, she saw the boys running. She ran to the edge of the building. For a brief moment, she wondered what to do next. The fact that she was loosing the boys made the decision for her. Summoning her courage and reminding herself that she had done more the night before, she jumped to the next building. Smiling at her success, she did this again and again, all the while thanking the human race for their need to pack buildings in anywhere they could.

Finally, she could go no farther. The building below her was just too far and she knew her limits. When she despaired at the thought of wasting time climbing down, she saw that her charges had stopped. They were conversing with another boy, and then the trio went inside the short building that was too far for her to jump.

Kale found another fire escape and almost flew down it. She walked by the windows until she caught sight of the boys. Besides her boys, nearly ten young men were inside. Suddenly, some silent signal brought them all down a flight of step visible in the corner.

Kale scowled. She wondered where they were going. She had to know! This was much more than just some boys meeting to get together to goof off. Her eyes flew to the ground. There had to be a basement window somewhere.

She followed the side of the building until she saw, farther along the side, there was a small window. Peering through it, she saw even more boys and girls (though the latter certainly lacking) in this room. Among them, she saw Control Freak standing next to a throne-like chair. On the chair itself, a man she had known and made friends with before he had left her behind and had turned to… a less than favorable path, was Jonathan, Q. Rancrid.

Now known as Johnny Rancid.

**A/N: Review. Review. Review! Review! Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I was at Six Flags and they kept playing the Teen Titans theme song, so I'm seriously thinking about murdering the next one who sings it. It is only because my loyal readers are still reading that makes me drag myself back to the computer instead of destroying the entire Teen Titans series. Sorry about the language in this chapter, but, hey it is rated teen. Cookies for whoever reviews!**

**Disclaimer: dude, I don't even own a car! How the hell am I supposed to own an entire series?**

Cyborg drove along the road, his eyes unfocused (though still his electronic eye was on the look out for danger). He had made up his mind, he was going to go back to the East Side and get some answers. He made the left turn smoothly and started to drive a little more slowly now that the cops had come back from wherever they had been before.

He stopped at a light and turned up the music, barely looking at his surroundings. Just as he started to move his car, something jumped out in front of him.

The person was wearing dark jeans and a deep gold shirt, the first and last two buttons undone. He saw the person had long black hair and instantly looked at her eyes, ridiculously hoping that the person was the girl he was searching for.

It was Kale! She was waving her arms wildly to get his attention. He jumped out of the car, barely waiting for it to stop completely, and ignored the honking horns around him.

"Kale! What are you doing girl? Are you alright?" Cyborg grabbed her shoulders frantically, his red eye widening and contracting erratically in its search for danger or injury.

"Cybog, get back in the car and let me explain," Kale said with such seriousness in her voice that Cyborg obeyed instantly.

As she ran around the side of the car and got in, Cyborg buckled his seat belt. He drove down the road a block or two and pulled over to the side of the street. When the cars that had been behind them were moving again, Cyborg turned his attention back to Kale.

She was rubbing her face, though her eyes were closed. She sighed heavily. Cyborg noticed that she was disheveled (of course, he could not help but notice she still was pretty… wait, where had _that_ thought come from?). Her gold shirt sleeves, though normally rolled to the shoulders, were still smudged by grass stains, and he could see her flat stomach from where her shirt's two bottom buttons were torn away.

Finally, Kale seemed to gather her thoughts about her enough to being talking. "Cy, listen to me. I'm sorry about last night…"

Cyborg was immensely relieved. He beamed as he began to say, "Kale, it's okay. I know you were trying to help and I've been looking for you all morning to apologize and to…"

"Cyborg, shut up!" Kale looked at him sharply. "I need to say sorry, but I also wanted to tell you _why_ it happened." She sighed and leaned back in the seat. "A lot of people in the East Side have been talking lately. They've been mad because when your team trashes the city getting at the 'bad guys', the rubble is moved to our side of town, like it is being swept to some unused corner. Besides that, the city enforces new taxes that you guys don't have t pay because you're 'heroes' and apparently one of you have a good relationship with the mayor." She looked at him. "The rest of us _do_ have to pay. The orphanage gets a little bit off but they are still in debt. Others in the East Side are struggling as well. Some manage to get by, but others…" she waved her hand, "you know." Kale closed her eyes; the words were evidently hard to get out. "I had a friend when I first came to the city; his name was Jonathan Q. Rancrid." The name set off a bell in Cyborg's head. "He, too, struggled with money. We helped him in anyone we could for a few months, but eventually it got to be too much. He… disappeared for a month. Next time I saw him; you, Cyborg, were chasing him down. By then he was…."

"Johnny Rancid." Cyborg finished for her.

"Yes." Kale's purple eyes met Cyborg's for the first time since she entered to car. "He and Control freak have been a whisper on the wind for a few months now; a rebellious thought in a jumbled mind. In other words, they are the un-struck match of an uprising."

"How very poetic," Cyborg murmured.

"Anyway, they've… gotten to two of the boys at my orphanage. Hal and Jack. They keep sneaking out. Jack, he has always been upset that the city and the Teen Titans have been messing with orphanage. He loves the little kids so much. And Hal, well, Hal had always been inspired by Jack and has basically adopted him as his big brother. Hal is smart, but he's very easily influenced. I'm sure that the group they've joined is responsible for last night. I took them out this afternoon to talk to them about what they've been doing, but they snuck out. I followed, and now_ I need your help_." Kale said the last part so softly, Cyborg could only hear the word 'help', but he knew what she was asking.

"What do you want me to do?" Cyborg asked leaning forward.

"Follow me." Kale's hands clenched and she got out of the car.

Cyborg did as he was bid, and walked behind her until they were almost level with the stoplight that he had picked Kale up at. She walked slower and eyed the building before her without noticeably looking at it. Cyborg glanced at it a few times. It was a pale yellow house, the kind you might expect to see out in the country, but not in a bustling city. It had overgrown grass and weeds were everywhere. The brown picket fence was broken and rotted from years of exposure to the weather. The trashcans were toppled over in a lonely heap next to a cement porch. All in all, it looked like the house had been abandoned for years.

Kale stepped onto the grass. She walked slowly and softly. She motioned for Cyborg to do the same. He walked as quietly as he could, his jaw set in a grim, tight line. Eventually, Kale bent down to a small window at the side of the house. She lay on her stomach. Cyborg walked over and silently did the same.

It was momentarily hard to see through the dirt and grime, but Cyborg's red eye focused and he saw all that Kale said in one room. There was a crowd of people-- of teenagers, mostly-- around a throne-like chair.

Upon it, sat the all too familiar silhouette of Johnny Rancid. Control Freak stood, like a servant, next to him. Johnny seemed to be talking to the group about something, but then stopped. His ugly face turned even uglier as he scowled. He looked up to the window.

Cyborg's heart dropped. In trying to see, his eye had glowed into the room. He jumped up. "Run!" he shouted to Kale.

Kale, needing no second bidding, jumped and leapt the two feet to the fence. She kicked the rotting planks and they gave easily. She stepped through the hole as a bunch of teenagers scrambled through the front door. Cyborg raised his cannon to hold them off. He felt Kale's hand on his shoulder.

"Not now," She whispered urgently into his ear. "Call your friends, come back. Right now we have to get out of here." He heard her squeak as a bullet missed her face by inches.

"Those little fucks have guns?!" Cyborg shouted.

He turned, but found himself stuck between two of the sturdier boards. Kale's eyes widened, but he saw a determined light there. She pushed him back through and jumped in after him, back into the yard and into danger.

"Kale, go!" he yelled, just as she pushed him into the hole again.

He was stuck again. He heard another shot and another one of Kale's little screams, this time it was a bit louder. Then he felt her entire bodyweight against him. The entire side of the picket fence fell under them. Kale hauled him up from his arm and dragged him, sprinting away at a speed that rivaled and even surpassed Robin's.

They ran until the shouts faded. They caught their breath and then Kale started climbing up a fire escape. Cyborg followed her. The rusty thing creaked ominously under his weight, but he didn't stop. Kale was two ladders ahead of him at all times. When he reached the top, he saw her lying down at the edge of the building. He approached her, hoping she had not passed out, but when he got close enough, she stuck a leg out and neatly tripped him.

"Ow, what'cha do that for?" Cyborg asked indignantly.

"Shush, look," Kale motioned below her. Teenagers were covering the city block, evidently looking for them. There were even two or three at Cyborg's car. "Call your friends, Cyborg."

Cyborg flipped his communicator open. "Robin… yo, you there Rob?"

"What? Cyborg where have you been?" Robin's voice crackled, annoyed, over the communicator.

Cyborg ignored his friend's rude tone. "Listen, you guys gotta come get us. Don't let yourselves get seen, though."

"Us? Cyborg what's going on?" Robin asked, confused and the worry in his tone more evident now that he was not trying to cover it with anger.

"I'll tell you when you get here. We're on the East Side, on top of…" Cyborg looked at the sign below him, "the Arms Apartments near the stoplight. Don't get seen. Over and out." He put the communicator away.

"Um, Cyborg?" Kale said weakly.

"Yeah?" said Cyborg, not looking up from the scene before him, amazed and incongruously interested in the people who were searching to find him and do who-knew-what once they found him.

"The room's spinning," Cyborg looked up sharply.

Kale groaned softly and clutched her shoulder. Cyborg's mechanical stomach churned. Trying to be gentle, he moved her hair way from her shoulder. He saw blood-drenched fingers and felt his worry move quickly into panic as he saw the crimson liquid pouring forth and spreading over her back. _Hurry Robin!_

**A/N: oh… slight cliffy. Will Kale get better? Will Johnny's minions find them before the team does? All of this would be answered when you review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I have just realized that my life is so painfully boring that I have not one idea on how to continue any of my other stories except this one.**

**Disclaimer: Maybe you guys don't speak English. Ai du no tenr adolescina dios!**

Crimson spread over gold as Cyborg picked Kale up and turned her on her back, supporting her with an arm. Kale's breath was labored and he did not trust himself to speak. A strange, uncomprehending look crossed her face.

"You, know it doesn't feel the way the movies and books portray it. It feels like a poison spreading through me," she said quietly. Cyborg nodded; he had felt the pain of a bullet wound before and with his mechanical body, most likely never would. At least not to the extent a 'normal' human would.

He assessed the situation; the bullet was lodged somewhere in her, for there was no exit would on the other side of her arm, but by the looks of it and the use he was able to get out of his X-ray eye, something else was wrong.

Cyborg noticed that some of her organs seemed to be in the wrong place, tendons stretched longer than normal, and he could have sworn he saw an odd pocket in her lungs. Before he had a chance to look any farther, panic filled his head as Kale uttered a small whine-grunt of pain and he went back to the task at hand.

He found the bullet. It had not pierced very far; it was in a muscle, far enough away from the heart to lull Cyborg into a momentary sense of relief. That vanished when he felt some thing warm trickle down his hand. He turned Kale back over; she made no complaint at being handled like a rag doll.

Blood was spilling out of the wound at an alarming rate; much faster than what he would have expected. Cyborg turned her over once again, being gentle. At this rate, Cyborg concluded, Kale would pass out in minutes. At the way Kale groaned and described the pain, Cyborg was sure she should have, but she did not. She did not even cry. So Cyborg tried not to either.

"Kale, why aren't you crying?" he asked, his eyes tearing up.

Kale laughed mirthlessly, the chuckle turning into a pained choke. "Cyborg, I came to Jump City a year and half ago and haven't cried since I woke up on the cliff two years ago. Something tells me I didn't cry before the cliff either. I'm just not that kind of girl." Her eyes were slightly glazed. "Cyborg, you don't have to act like I'm dying. I'm not. I've been through worse than this."

"When?" Cyborg said, trying to banish the stinging tears from his eyes. He wanted to keep her mind away from the pain that had to be coursing through her.

"Well, once when I was far away from the cliff town, a month after I left it, I was in Ithaca, Greece, not New York…" Kale told Cyborg a short story of why she was there (wandering), why she stayed (to help the townspeople regain a little of the former glory they had when they were ancient), and what happened (she met StoneBlock and had two ribs broken and a leg nearly ripped apart.)

"StoneBlock?" Cybrog asked, confused at the familiarity of the name.

"Yeah, I think he's related to that CinderBlock guy that was stomping around the city a few days ago," Kale said. She smiled weakly, "See? Even bad guys have families."

Suddenly, Kale scowled. She blinked a few times, and Cyborg felt her go limp. Cyborg kept his hand away from the open wound, to keep it from hurting, but that didn't stop the blood. He was actually amazed the Kale had not passed out sooner.

A bird flew overhead. Cyborg felt alone. He heard something clinking up the fire escape. Cyborg put Kale down, carefully on her other, uninjured shoulder. He readied the cannon, its blue light as ready to threaten teenagers as it was to blast Johnny or Control Freak.

"Cyborg it's me," Robin's hand reached over the side.

Cyborg helped him up, and looked down to find the girls wearing normal clothes. Robin, too looked like a completely normal citizen, except for his mask (Cyborg noticed, annoyed that he would take even a small chance on their safety), that is.

"Sorry we took so long, but Rae, Star and I had to change, and then we had to take the bus… What the hell!?" Robin had caught sight of Kale, and the blood running down her back, wetting the cemented roof of the building.

Cyborg motioned to her. "She's hurt. We need to either get her to the hospital or the tower. Where's Beast Boy?"

Right here." The bird that had been flying around them dropped down halfway between the team and Kale. He looked at her shoulder closely. "Dude, what did you do to her?"

"You think I would do this?" snarled Cyborg.

"Cool it, man," Beast Boy said, putting his hands up as a signal of capitulation.

Cybrog sighed. "So what's the plan, Rob?" he turned to Robin, happily turning over command as leader.

"I say we get those punks off your car and drive back to the Tower. We already have it on defense," Robin offered.

Cyborg nodded. "Do you have your weapons?"

Robin shook his head. "Not enough to take care of all those kids without seriously hurting them."

Cyborg picked up Kale and gently deposited her in Robin's arms. "Stay back and be careful, she's bleeding a lot."

Robin nodded and the grim-faced teens went back down the ladders, Robin going last because he had to walk slower and because of the burden in his arms.

"Titans, Go!" Cyborg yelled to his teammates.

Cyborg did not even get a chance to fire his arm. Raven marveously took up the front. She moved the kids off the car and opened the back door with her black magic, which Cyborg was immensely happy that she had at the moment. Robin ran straight to the T-car and slid Kale into the back seat. He himself crawled over the front seat and sat on the passenger's side.

Everyone looked expectantly at Cyborg.

"Right. Rae, you and Star fly back fast as you can and get the infirmary ready. You too, BB. Rob and I will be there in a few. Let's move, people!"

They all nodded and the girls and Beast Boy took off. Cyborg got in the car and sped through the streets faster than he had that morning, if that morning had indeed existed. Cybory could not remember his anger or annoyance at Kale, nor could he remember how sorry he was. Right then, there was only a now, and Cyborg new that he held Kale's future was in his hands; death or crippled, he would be damned before he let either happen to her.



Kale laughed. She laughed so hard she had to wipe tears from her eyes. "You... you seriously thought I was going to die from that? Cyborg! That bullet didn't even hit anything. God, are you always such a drama king?"

Cyborg looked down, his cheeks flaming. He muttered, "It wasn't so silly when you were actually dieing." He hoped that Kale hadn't heard him, but she had. Even more than that, she smiled at his last comment.

Then her smile faded. She fiddled with the end of the blanket. "So, when are you guys going after… you know? The kids and Jonathan?" She absolutely refused to call her former friend by his new name.

Cyborg shook his head. There was no point in lying to her. "Probably right now," he said, standing up.

"All right." Kale through the blankets off herself and started to get up, wincing only a little when she leaned on her bad shoulder.

Cyborg looked surprised for a moment, and then his face hardened. "Oh no, girl. Get back into bed. This is the same as any hospital, you're on bed rest."

Kale put on a mock-pitiful face. "Can't you just give me some pills like a normal doctor?" she whined.

Cyborg allowed himself a small smile, but remained firm. "Tell you what, I'll drive you home tomorrow and you can do whatever any drugs you want," he said jokingly.

"Or you can give me the drugs, and drive me home now." Kale smiled and raised an eyebrow to tell him that although she had a joking tone, she was seriously suggesting just that.

"No."

"Ah come on…"

"No."

"But what if I just…"

"No."

Kale crossed her arms. "You're really annoying, you know that?"

"And you're not getting out of here," Cyborg said lightly as he stepped out the door.

Of course, the happy, light-hearted effect was destroyed when he locked the door from the outside, causing a loud sound that sounded like he was locking a deadbolt from a submarine. Wincing slightly, Cyborg went to the elevator, sighing and rolling his muscles as it the elevator moved down to the garage.

He stepped out of the elevator, his face set and ready for fighting. He walked silently to the T-car. Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire were already there; Robin had decided it was not safe for them to fly, of course, it made Cyborg wonder how safe driving a motorcycle could be, but he did not voice his opinions.

They drove out, over the water at first, the T-cars newest upgrades allowing them to fly over the surface. Cybrog could see Kale's silhouette in the Titan's infirmary where the lights were still on, through the mirror. She waved, and turned around. Cyborg spared himself a fond mental farewell to her, then thought of nothing but the road and set his mind, wondering what they were going to do with more than fifty relatively harmless kids.



Kale watched the Teen Titans go and bit her lip. She trusted Cyborg, but she did not want any of the kids to get hurt, whether it was by accident or on purpose from Jonathan or Control Freak. They were, after all, just misguided kids.

She winced at the itching pain in her shoulder. She had borrowed one of Starfire's extra shirts. It was purple a purple T-shirt. The girls were close enough to the same. One could easily see the large bandage Cyborg had put over her wound on the back of her arm. The wound had stopped hurting while she was unconscious, but she would remember the pain for a while to come and she had to now endure an odd itching sensation. She sat on her infirmary bed for a few minutes, and without anything to do, was forced to concentrate on the itch.

Slowly, however, the itch gradually changed to a dull throb in her muscle. A few minutes later, it disappeared altogether. Frowning, Kale pulled off the bandage. There was no sign of the wound that had been there. Indeed, there was only a faint pink scar in the shape of a perfect circle. All that was left of the painful bullet wound was a few smudges of crusting blood where it had been moved around.

Kale smiled, though she was concerned that it had healed so fast. She shrugged her shoulders, assuming it was her quick ability to heal that her friends in Ithaca and other places had always envied her for as well as Cyborg's great medicine, and ready to move on. There were kids out there that needed her help and guidance; she could worry about the wound later.

She went to the window, on the way shutting off the light. She left her eyes adjust to the darkness, only brightened by the lights of the city, and pushed against the window. It moved a little. Pursing her lips, Kale kicked the window's sill, careful not to break the glass.

It burst open. Kale looked down. It was just then that she realized that she was pretty high up.

_Oh well._ She thought to herself, hurried by the thought that the Titans had a good half hour on her.

She stepped down from where she was so that a little of her weight was resting on top of the window below her. Gasping as she nearly lost her footing, Kale gripped the sill and pulled her leg back in. She stood for a moment before making a decision. She quickly untied her sneakers before throwing them out the window, hoping that the water below would not take them.

She tried again, fully allowing her body to come out of room, and into the elements, gripping the sill like a lifeline. Which, of course, it was. The wind blew in a slight breeze, but to Kale it was a hurricane around her. Swallowing, she slowly let go of the open window and allowed her weight to rest entirely on the two-inch area for a second before scrabbling to grab the window again, breathing heavily.

_Okay Kale. Let's be smart. _She told herself. She turned her feet sideways. She was lucky her feet were tiny. They fit on the ledge. She crouched, and dropped one leg, then the other down to the next ledge while holding on to the first. Her heart beat wildly as she realized that she was not a speck on the dark rocks below her. She continued like this for a few minutes until she was one story up. Then, swallowing and gathering her courage, she jumped. She landed, but her knees buckled under the shock.

She gave her legs a minute before she tried to stand. Again, Kale paused, and then went to the edge of the little island, finding her shoes on the way. The water splashed up against the shore. She gave a little yelp as the water touched her and a searing pain struck through her head. An image of glowing water… then nothing. She hadn't swum since she woke up on a cliff two years ago. Taking a deep breath for breath and courage's sake she jumped in.

Kale surprised even herself. She moved like a bullet through the water and closed the space between the Tower and shore in what she was sure was record time. Heaving herself up out of the water almost regretfully, she looked for a way to get to the East Side's farthest corner. Hailing a taxi, she got in breathlessly.

"Look I can't pay you..."

The driver grunted, "No pay, no ride."

Kale felt her blood boil as she felt time close in around her. Her hand shot out and turned the man around so she was holding him by his collar. "Listen, bub, a lot of kids are gonna get hurt if you don't get me to the East Side corner, and if you do, you can gurantee I'm coming after you with a pack of angry Teen Titans at my heels. I'm going to ask you this once: can you take me to the first light on the East Side?"

"Can do," said the driver quickly and they sped off.

**A/N: alright I made it a little longer this time. Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I know I'm taking forever, but I'm really in depth with my new story Her Silent Scream for Yuyu Hakusho.**

**Disclaimer: .neeT snatiT oD I**

Cyborg was the first to step out of the T- car. His eye glowed red as he checked out the house. The kids were in the basement. All clear. He nodded to the others, who had crowded around the T-car.

As one, the team began to move. They had known each other long enough to know exactly where they were going move next; which patch of grass Raven would surreptitiously not step on (the youngest, for she did not want to tread on something that had not had a chance at life yet) to when Starfire would begin to float instead of walking (in the middle of the yard, as they grew closer to the house, her nerves began working up). Cyborg reached the door first, holding the screen open from the inside, all the while making sure that his eye was working furiously as he did so.

Robin motioned for the others to stay quiet as they entered the yellow house. They entered through a living room. There was a large television and a lot of chairs and cushions scattered about the floor. It looked like a cheap theater. Or a cult. The next room, the kitchen, was completely deserted. Ignoring the fact that it was void of any dust; the room looked like it had never had a living occupant.

Cyborg opened the door where the pantry should have been. A narrow set of steps descended into a dark basement. He activated the small light on his shoulder and renewed Robin's motion for the others to remain quiet. They went down the old wooden steps, which groaned under the weight. They were in the basement, styled in the old way so there were no walls; the room was basically carved out of the ground. There was a small space to the left of the steps, leading to underneath the rotted staircase. The only other way to go was through a door. As one, the team moved forward. Cyborg's hand brushed the handle…

"AHHHH!!"

Everyone turned to glare at Beast Boy, who was fighting with a cat. Not two seconds later, the door burst open. In front of them stood a heavily breathing Control Freak. His eyes widened.

"Teen Titans! They're here!" he screeched at the top of his lungs.

"Get them!" A voice from the room ordered.

A bunch of teenagers rushed at them. For a few minutes, Cyborg dealt with punching the kids in the gut and knocking them out, careful to not hurt them permanently. The space was too confined for anything else, anyway.

Amid the triumphant yelps of the teenagers and the grunts of his companions as they tried not to hurt anyone too terribly while keeping their own lives, a sickening thought occurred to Cyborg. Control Freak was not much of a problem, but Johnny Rancid was not above taking one of the kids hostage.

"Guys! We gotta get these kids outta here!" He yelled above the noise while twisting some girl's arm behind her back.

"Titans! Retreat!" Robin yelled.

Reluctantly, the Titans moved upstairs and Cyborg blasted their way to the street.



"Stop here!"

The cab stopped nearly on a dime. Kale felt slightly bad about scaring the poor man so, but it was for the best. She got out of the cab and turned to thank the driver, but as soon as her leg was out, the tires screeched and the car was roaring down the street. Shrugging, Kale turned her attention back to what was important. Her friends and the kids.

Kale realized half a second later that she could hear them, but she could not see them. When she saw Cyborg's blast go past her, she dove behind what remained of the fence. The Titans pulled out of the house and grouped together, back to back, for the oncoming attack. More than fifty kids surrounded them.

Kale spotted Hal and Jack in the midst of the chanting kids, noticing that they looked slightly uneasy about what was going on. She dove into the crowd and looked very much like the rest of the kids. Suddenly she was very glad that Starfire had taken to buying more and more human clothes over the years.

Sneaking up behind the boys, she clapped a hand over Hal's mouth. Despite his age and that he was about six inches taller than her, Kale was able to overpower him and pull him behind the fence before Jack noticed anything. She repeated the move on Jack (who put up more of a struggle, but still was beaten) and she stood before them, arms crossed.

"Start talking," she ordered shortly.

"What are you going to do about it, huh?" sneered Jack. He tried to get back up, but was quickly pushed back down.

Kale suddenly remembered something from her past. Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned down. She frowned and thought for a moment before she reached out her hand. She used her thumb to put pressure on Jack's shoulder where the bones met. Jack cried out in pain, and Kale clapped her free hand over his mouth.

She growled, "I might not remember much about my past, but I do remember I can do this." She increased the pressure, feeling remorseful about his pain but knowing it was necessary. "Now, unless you want a dislocated shoulder, sweetie, you'll tell me everything that I want to know."

"Uhh…. We remembered Johnny Rancid from when he used to hang out with you a few years ago," Hal blurted out. He received a glare from Jack, but it was only half-hearted.

Kale felt a pang of guilt as she realized that had she never gotten… involved with Johnny, the boys would probably never have been in this mess. Slowly, she removed both hands from Jack's body.

The boy sighed then swore. He continued with Hal's beginning. "He got a bunch of us to join his group, saying he would help us take down the Titans and keep the city the way _we_ wanted it at the same time. We got more and more involved and he kept telling us how things would be in time. But some of us got to thinking that what we were doing was wrong, or that it would not work cause the Teen Titans kept fixing whatever we did. Anyone who tried to leave disappeared."

Kale sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You know you are al really stupid."

Hal whimpered, "Yeah, but we didn't want to disappear."

Kale looked at him. "You should have went to the very people you despised if you wanted a change. When you needed help, you could have gone to them. Or the police. Or me! There were so many options left to you it's ridiculous for you to even think to use that excuse." Her face softened as the boys hung their heads. "Tell you what, to redeem yourself go into that crowd right now and find anyone who will leave. Tell them that they will not disappear. Don't worry and don't get yourselves caught."

The boys nodded eagerly and left the alley. Kale watched them melt back into the crowd. The kid's roaring grew as they went into frenzy, but did not act on their whims. They were waiting for a signal.

Kale went out and melted into the crowd. She felt someone's eyes on her as she slipped into the house. She did not want to think that it was who she thought it was. She heard a cackling from downstairs. She went into the kitchen and quietly went down the steps, ignoring the cat that hissed and spat at her on her way down. She put an eye to the door and listened.

"… and soon the entire city will be ours! Mwhahahahahahahahahahahahahaha."

"Shut up." Came Johnny Rancid's voice. A boot kicked Control Freak in the head, "I've got a job for you. Go tell the kids…"

"Hey! I'm no lackey! I'm an evil advisor," Control Freak injected angrily.

There was a gurgle and Control Freak was lifted into the air, leaving his feet to dangle helplessly. Kale winced. When she had known Johnny, he had been nice, if a little extreme. Now he was here, trying to upturn the city that he had once loved and choking anyone who did not bend to his wishes.

Johnny's voice came again, harder and more serious than it had been a moment before. "Go tell the kids to attack, don't let the Titans get away."

Kale drew back as Control Freak squeaked a 'yes sir' and she pried a loose board from the stairs. She drew back into a small "hallway" that led to under the steps. As Control Freak closed the door behind him, Kale jumped out of the shadows and swung the board. With a small 'oof' he crumpled to the floor, holding his head.

Kale, knowing that he would be back up in less than two minutes, dragged him behind and under the stairs with minimal difficulty, despite his girth. She removed his belt and tied his hands with it. Seconds after she had backed away, Control Freak began to groan as he came to.

"Hey Control Freak," whispered Kale hostilely.

"Hmm… Kale!" he began t shout, but Kale clapped a hand over his mouth.

"You are going to jail for a very long time, Control Freak. I might be able to get time taken off of your sentence, but only if you help me catch the _real_ bad guy."

"I am the bad guy," whimpered Control Freak, but under Kale's critical glare, he bowed his head and conceded. "All right. I'll help you, but only because I hate Johnny." He looked at her sweetly, or as sweetly as a greasy teenager could, "I knew you loved me, baby."

"Uhhh," Kale answered in disgust.

She pushed his head, which only went up to her chest, away from her, sending him sprawling. When he was done rolling on the floor and acting even more childish than usual, she pulled the strap of the blet and it released his hands, giving him an extremely painful burn in the process.

She said shortly, "Go call off the kids, and explain what is happening to the Titans. Tell them not to come in here; I'm going to try to talk to Jonathan."

Control Freak scurried off to do her bidding and Kale faced the door to the room that had once held over fifty misguided kids. Her heart beat loudly, more than that of a girl who was just about to see an ex. She swallowed and summoned her courage. She opened the door. Immediately the smell of mold hit her nostrils. Steeling herself against her anxiety, she walked inside.

Johnny's rough voice called out. "Unless you're here to tell me that the Titans are no more, I don't want to see you."

Something flew by Kale's face and shattered on the wall behind her. She cringed slightly but did not recoil.

"Hey Jonathan, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies," Kale said, repeating one of the last things she ever said to him.

Johnny came out of the shadows. Kale gasped. He was completely different. He was taller and more muscular. He wore black pants and a black shirt, ripped in several places. He had bronze knuckles around his right hand, but they too were black. His pupils were extremely small and yellow while the rest of his eyes were black. His skin was what had changed the most. It looked as if it had been left in water and all color leeched away. (A/N: The same Johnny Rancid we all know and love.)

"What are you doing here _Miss_ Kale?" he sneered.

"Look, I just want to talk. You know what you are doing is wrong."

"No, what you are doing is wrong. If I asked you a year ago to take back the city, you would have jumped at the chance. What's happened to _you_?"

Kale felt her ire rise up like never before. "I would have never done what you are doing. Look at yourself, Jonathan. You are manipulating children!"

Kale heard the clink of chains. She saw his hand move. As the chain whip snaked out, she jumped into the air. As she touched down, she swung her leg out to knock Johnny to the ground, ignoring the fact that somehow she had jumped five feet into open air. Kale hit nerves in both his legs and arms; he went limp after some spazing. All he was able to do was screech curses towards her.

"Kale!" she heard Cyborg's worried yell from above.

"Nice work Control Freak," muttered Kale before she yelled, "Cyborg, I'm down here!" She squatted down and began tying Johnny up with his own chain.



Johnny sat in the back of the white truck, along with some of the more rebellious kids, all of whom were screaming 'anarchy'. Cyborg had his arm protectively around Kale's shoulder and Robin was talking to one of the officers. As Control Freak was handcuffed and led to the truck, he turned around to Kale.

"So, how's about that sentence shortening?" he smiled, trying (and failing) to be charming.

Kale smiled coyly at him. "Well, I said I _might_ help. Apparently, here in Jump City you are not eligible for sentence reduction. Bye now." She waved as he was pushed into the truck and was forcibly sat down, hanging his head miserably.

Kale slid out from beneath Cyborg's arm, telling him that she was going to go get Jack and Hal. Cyborg watched her leave, surprisingly not following her curves but watching for danger, his eye jumping mechanically every time the flicker of the police light caused a shadow to jump and wriggle near her. When she had disappeared behind the alley's fence, Cyborg resisted the urge to go after her.

Cyborg swallowed nervously. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He swiveled his head to see Raven. She motioned for him to follow her. He did as she wished. They walked a few feet, behind the white S.W.A.T. car, so that the rest of the group would not hear them.

"You like her, don't you?" Raven asked quietly.

Cyborg nodded and looked over at Kale's smiling face. She was humoring Beast Boy, Jack and Hal trying to make themselves look small behind her. "Yeah."

"You should ask her out."

"What?" Cyborg's attention snapped back to Raven. She was definitely not one he would normally take love advice from.

"I can feel a change in her aura every time you are around. She likes you, and you like her. Ask her out. The worse she could say is no," Raven said logically.

"It's different, Rae… I could ruin a friendship and make things akw…"

Raven interrupted, something she did not usually do except when Beast Boy was talking, "So you'd rather live your days of 'friendship' getting your heart broken every time she was with someone else and it would be overstepping 'friend' boundaries by telling her that she shouldn't be with him?" Raven asked rhetorically. She continued, "You like her, and you know it. She likes you, and she may or may not. Why not save yourselves a lot of grief and give it a try?"

Cyborg's shoulders slumped. "When you're right, you're right."

Raven smiled weakly at him. She walked away. Cyborg considered what she said. _Maybe I shouldn't even try. There's so much to worry about, and having a girlfriend only complicates things. But…_Raven actually smiled! That had to mean something.

Puffing out his chest, Cyborg walked up to Kale, his nervousness rising with every step. He tapped her shoulder. She jumped and turned around, ready to fight, then smiled when she saw it was only him.

"Hey, Cyborg. You need something?"

"Ummm…." Man, he was really out of practice!

After a minute, Kale cleared her throat. "Tell you what, I'll talk to you tomorrow and you think of the right words. I gotta get these two knuckle heads home." She gestured fondly to the two boys behind her. She turned with them to walk the other way.

"Kale?" Cyborg blurted out. She turned along with the boys. "Will you go out with me?"

"OHHHH, get em' Miss Kale." Hooted the boys.

Kale turned scarlet with embarrassment, her pale violet eyes flickering in the light. She smiled at him. "Sure."

**A/N: Wow, this chapter is a page longer than most of my other chapters, so that should make up for my tardiness. If not, get over it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: You've got to remember for this chapter that all the Titans are older, about 19-20.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

"Cyborg, don't put that there." Kale cautioned, her laughter creeping through her voice.

Cyborg peered sideways at her over his bulky shoulder. "Why not--" He swiveled his head back to attention, "- oh."

"Yeah, dude." Kale giggled and stood on her toes to reach and take the streamer from Cyborg's hands. Where he wanted to put it, the decoration would belt guests in the head with its papier-mâché Chinese decoration. "I still don't know why you insist on these ridiculous things. Af- Oof." She fell off her tiptoes and onto the floor, where she quickly rolled and propped herself onto her back. Being close to the Titans had taught her not to stay on the ground too long.

Cyborg chuckled and easily took down the streamer. He held it out for Kale like a cat toy, "Looking for this?"

Kale crossed her arms and pouted. "You know I hate it when you do that." She grabbed the streamer and jogged across the living room to put it in another, more suitable, spot.

Cyborg watched her go with interest. Remembering what the party was about, he thought about the changes all of them had went through.

The Titans had changed the way they operated, making sure that the lazy police force did not sweep the mess to the poor corner of the city. Most of the Titans had changed their clothes to something more suitable to their age and their private profession. Starfire had begun to buy clothing from Earth, though most of her clothes were still purple, with the occasional green thrown in for good measure. Beast Boy had finally abandoned the suit of his previous team, and now wore a black and green suit with double T's at the cuffs, collar and ankles. When the threats of the neighborhood 'baddies' got bigger (and subsequently, 'badder') and Beast Boy's animal forms could no longer keep him completely safe, he had added a utility belt much like Robin's (though, of course, neon green) to his new uniform. Raven, after quite a few scarring battles, had taken to wearing pants (black, of course) to hide her legs; Robin, both in an effort to look older as both of his other male friends matured (though Cyborg considerably less, having only added three inches to his six-foot-two frame) and remembering Starfire's trip into the future (and her blush describing his future, alone persona) had taken to wearing black, though he kept the mask, cape, and whatever on his previous uniform that was yellow.

The Titans were not the only ones that had changed, either. Although she still hated writing reports on cars, loved the kids at the orphanage to death and was as strong-willed as ever, Kale's appearance had noticeably changed. Her black hair was at least three inches longer, now resting a little farther along the middle of her back. Her navy blue elbow-length shirt complimented her eyes nicely, which had been darkening over the past year. Her jeans hugged her waist nicely and fanned out over her legs, which Cyborg had noticed (when they were innocently splashing around in the Titan pool yesterday) were much more muscular now than they had been before.

Cyborg also happened to know those legs were muscular because he had been on the receiving end of one of her kicks; it wasn't a pleasant experience. Neither was having to yell at her, again, for coming on missions with the rest of the Titans. She seemed to take care of herself, but Cyborg worried.

As if sensing his eyes on her, Kale turned and smiled at him. "What are you staring at?"

Cyborg grinned evilly, "Your beautiful bod."

Kale caught the glint in his eyes. Her eyes widened and she pointed at him threateningly with a roll of decorations. "Don't even think about"

She was cut off when Cyborg tackled her and started tickling her unmercifully. She was extremely ticklish and Cyborg had the children at the orphanage to thank for this power he held over her. "Stop…. I give…. I give!" she panted.

Cyborg, being the gentleman that he was, helped her up. "Hey, where'd B go? He's supposed to be helping us."

Kale thought for a minute. "Oh yeah, he turned into a flea and hid on Raven's cape because he did not want to help decorate the place."

_**Boom! **_

Kale smiled. "And that would be Raven finding a green flea on her clothes."

Beast Boy flew in the room a minute later as a crow. When he saw Kale, he changed back. He grabbed her leg and held on tight. "Help me," he said meekly.

"Don't worry, I'll help," she whispered. "RAVEN! BEAST BOY IS LOOKING FOR YOU!" Kale shouted.

Raven was in the room seconds later, scaring Beast Boy out of his wits. As he started pleading for mercy, Kale turned to Cyborg.

"I think we had better go find the lovebirds," she said, wrinkling her nose and leaving the room, ignoring a pleading Beast Boy.

"Yeah, we can't leave those two alone for a minute can we?" Cyborg said, following her into the elevator.

"Were we like that our first month?" Kale asked rhetorically.

"No. If I remember correctly, you didn't let me kiss you until we were three months in," Cyborg said teasingly as they walked down the hallway to the garage.

"Hey, a girl has to have her limits, even with a charmer like you." Kale shrugged.

They receded into quiet. They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes while they went down. Kale looked at the numbers on the wall. She paled slightly.

"I have fought Control Freak's weird remote robot thing, Jonathan's dog, and that weird magic guy's hat and I still can't believe I went all those floors. I have never done anything that crazy." She said, shaking her head.

"What about the time you jumped into Cardiac's heart and used a compact to ruin the inner walls, causing him to malfunction?"

"Ew, it took a week for me to get all of the gunk out of my hair." Kale made a disgusted face.

_**Ding!**_

They exited the elevator and stepped onto the concrete of the garage. Right in the center of the enormous room the newest couple of the Teen Titans, Starfire and Robin, were embracing in a more than friendly way. Kale giggled, drawing their attention. Robin blushed, but Starfire greeted them joyfully.

"Friends, is everything prepared for the celebration?"

"Yes, and nothing will hit anyone in the head." Kale answered, looking sideways at Cyborg.

"Careful, or I'll tell everyone your secret," Cyborg said semi-threateningly, referring to Kale's ticklishness.

"Try it and I'll fry your circuits," Kale said poking his chest.

She turned on her heel and made for the elevator, grumbling about metal men being just like all men. Starfire quickly followed, bouncing with joy. Robin and Cyborg exchanged a look before following the girls, slipping in just before the doors closed.



They reached the top of the tower, where the living room was. Kale disappeared into the kitchen and started to make platters of food, shooing Beast Boy out and trying to politely keep Starfire from putting mustard on everything. Beast Boy, not wanting to bother Kale or Raven, slumped on the couch next to Cyborg and Robin, waiting for his turn to play video games. Raven was meditating in her room. It was relatively quiet, save Robin and Cyborg's yelling at each other and the volume on the T.V. being turned up annoyingly loud, so everyone heard the doorbell ring. They all started to move for the elevator, but Kale waved him or her back down.

"I'll get it. Cyborg, Beast Boy, if I find just one cube of cheese gone, I'm going to lock you both in the closet for the entire party," she said without turning around.

After a few minutes of walking down the stairs, as she refused to take the elevator if no one was with her, she opened the door. A woman, two men and two short teenage boys were there. She smiled.

"You must be the West Titans. Bee, Aqualad, Speedy, and Mas and Menos, right?" She said, pointing to each.

"Yeah, and you must be Sparky's girlfriend, Kale, right?" Bee came forward and shook her hand, smiling warmly.

"Yep. Go on in, we're just finishing up," Kale said, happy to have made a new friend.

She shook hands with each of them as they went past her.

"Hi, I'm Speedy, don't confuse me with Robin; I'm much cuter," The orange-haired crime-fighter said as he shook her hand.

Kale's smile broadened, "I'll have to remember that. Note to self: Speedy is the one without the girl attached to his hip."

He raised an eyebrow. "Robin finally got Starfire to go out with him?"

"Well it was kinda the other… you know what, it's a long story. Go up and ask them for yourself." Kale smiled, knowing the long story.

"Mas y Menos! Sei Hola!" The twins said together.

Kale giggled and ruffled each of their hair. "Hola, simpatico ta encontarse tu."

"Ehhh…." The boys wavered and blushed. Noticing each other's blush, they started to argue, speaking rapidly in Spanish. Bee came back and led them away, careful not to get caught in their little cloud of punches and kicks.

"Well… that was interesting," Kale said, speaking to herself and forgetting someone was there.

"Yes, it was."

"Oh!" Kale turned around to see Aqualad, who smiled at her. "I'm sorry, I kinda forgot you were here."

Aqualad waved her apology away. "That's all right." He raised an eyebrow, "You speak Spanish?"

Kale nodded and stuck out her hand. "I spect a month in Barcelona a few years ago and the orphanage has a couple of children who don't speak English, so I pick up things here and there. I decided to take a course last year to understand them better." She looked into his eyes, which were surprisingly black.

"Cyborg told me something about that, the orphanage, that is." He said shaking her hand. "I…" he trailed off, staring at her intently.

After a few minutes, Kale started to get uncomfortable. She cleared her throat. "Um… is something wrong?"

Aqualad seemed startled out of his reverie. "That's a very interesting eye color you have."

"Um… yeah." Kale was surprised by the change of topic. "I've had it ever since I can remember, but lately they've been getting darker."

"Oh," Aqualad said politely.

"Erm, we'd better get upstairs, Cyborg will think that I left without telling him, again," Kale said, starting towards the elevator.

**A/N: Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi!!**

**Disclaimer: Do you really have nothing better to do?**

"Hey, Cy, I'm gonna go get the kids, can I use your car?" Kale asked, smiling.

Cyborg held his keys back in a minute of indecision. "Fine. But remember, no graffiti, no surprise paint jobs, no riding with the top down…"

"No food, no drink, no crayons, no magnifying glasses, and no messing with your music station." Kale finished, grabbing the keys from his hand. She pecked him on the lips and left the room quickly.

Cyborg looked around the room. Streamers and papier-mâché Chinese decorations hung from the high ceilings. A bunch of people rested on the couch, in front of plates teeming with food. Music from the surround-sound speakers sent ripples in glasses of water and vibrations through everyone's body. People danced and talked. Food was everywhere, as were things to do. Cyborg looked up to his favorite decoration of the party and…

"Yo, B! I know you're not hanging on that banner! Raven, some help please."

Raven looked around from where she was talking with Goliath. Seeing Beast Boy, she lazily used her magic to encase and deposit the offender in a nearby punch bowl. Cyborg examined the banner that Kale and the orphans had worked so painstakingly on.

**Thank you Titans!**

Handprints of different colors and sizes were around the heading. It was simple, but really showed that all the work the Titans had put into cleaning up the city and helping kids who lived in Jump City really did matter and helped a lot of people.

Fort-eight and a quarter minutes (Cyborg knew because he often counted how long it was that Kale was gone, though he often justified this with trying to see if she had enough time to get the kids icecream, have it wolf it down in the car, and clean them up before he noticed. Most of the time, the answer was a no) later the door opened and a group of kids poured into the room, gravitating to their favorite Titans. Kale came in second later, carrying little Tommy. She gave Cyborg his keys back and bounced Tommy on her hip a little.

"What did you want to say to Cyborg?" she asked kindly. The young child popped a thumb in his mouth. Kale pulled it out gently. "Don't do that, sweet. You're too old and you'll get buckteeth. Now go on, tell him."

Tommy looked at Cyborg and said, "You are my favorite Titan, Mr. Cyborg." He said perfectly, stumbling only slightly on the 'favorite' part.

"Aww, thanks man," Cyborg said, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.

"You know you're my…" Kale began amorously, "Adelaide, don't do that!" Kale handed Tommy to Cyborg and raced after the small girl, who was hanging on Wildebeest's horns. "What did I say about being polite?" she cried exasperatedly.

The party went off without a hitch. Well, except for the kids bugging the hell out of the Titans. They were all gracious, of course, and took great care of the kids. As the clock struck one, Kale and Cyborg looked around the room.

The Titans were all still awake, but winding down. The kids were all sleeping where they dropped: a couple on the couch, some on the table, more on the floor and, to Kale's horror, one on the ceiling fan. Cyborg and Kale gently picked each kid up and carried each of them down to the elevator and deposited them into the car. When most were in, they had to get Beast Boy's help getting the one from the ceiling down.

Cyborg drove through the streets and deposited the kids at the orphanage. He and Kale brought them all to their rooms and came quickly out to the car five minutes later. They drove back to the tower, finding half their friends asleep, and the other half on their way.

"Looks like we're going to have to clean up," Kale said.

Cyborg, who happened to know that cleaning up was the least favorite thing for Kale to do, caught sight of Robin and Starfire, who had fallen asleep in each other arms. He smiled and intertwined his arms around Kale, something he would ever do unless his friends were so drowsy they wouldn't remember the next day. He lightly kissed the side of her cheek.

"Or we can go to sleep and say we were following their example." He whispered, nodding over to the couple.

Kale saw them. "Awww… they really do make a nice couple. You know who's next, right?" she asked teasingly. She pointed to the couch, where Beast Boy was drenching Raven's shoulder with his drool, and Raven was resting her head on his.

Cyborg quietly laughed. "Yeah, as soon as Beast boy learns the meaning of the word 'boundaries'."

"First he needs to learn how to spell it," Kale said, twisting away from his grasp and taking a bowl of chips to the kitchen.

Cyborg sighed. _Looks like we're the clean-up crew._



"AAAHHHH!!" The short yell woke up everyone up.

Kale groaned and rubbed her stiff neck, carefully avoiding the chips that littered the floor around her. "Looks like Raven found Beast Boy," she muttered.

She nudged Cyborg. They had fallen asleep together against the back of the couch, after Cyborg had innocently started a chip fight and, amongst muffled giggles, had fallen to the ground. They had kissed and made up, and Kale had tiredly lain against Cyborg for a minute. That minute turned into the rest of the night and Cyborg, the gentlemen that he was, had let the girl sleep all night against him.

"What?" Cyborg moaned in his sleep.

"It's time top wake up," Kale said softly.

"Mhh," Cyborg's lips curved into a smile and he held her more closely against him.

"Get up or I'll spray water on you," Kale said in her most serious voice.

Cyborg sat bolt right. "What's happening?" he asked, hearing the commotion.

Kale pointed to where the entire Tower was watching Raven terrorize Beast Boy. Cyborg laughed and Kale punched him.

"Come on, we should stop them."

"I know how," Cyborg stood up and cupped his hands to his mouth. "Come on everybody! I'm making WAFFLES!!"

There was a mad rush to the kitchen. Kale watched her boyfriend get swept away. She went up to Raven and laughed as Beast Boy struggled to get out of the blqack hand that was holding him.

"Come on, Raven. We can feed Beast Boy bacon for breakfast."

"That's an alliteration that I will take you up on." Raven said, flying to the kitchen.

"Don't worry, Beast Boy. Everything you get will be purely tofu." Kale said reassuringly.

They walked to the kitchen. Cyborg was doling out plates of waffles and bacon quickly. Just as Kale accepted a plate…

_**BEEEP! BEEeP!**_ A red light flashed.

"Titans! Trouble!" Kale rolled her eyes at the comment she heard Robin say on a daily basis.

People started to file out, flying out of windows or running to the garage to get transportation. Aqualad jumped to a window and had the surrounding water bring him down the sea below. Cyborg found Kale amidst all the confusion and grabbed her arm.

"Stay here," he said sternly.

Kale saluted and gave him the I'll-say-yes-but-there's-no-way-I'm-listening smile. "Of course." She looked serious. "Be careful. If you get hurt, I'm going to clock you and tie you to your bed."

Cyborg nodded and ignored all the lecherous comments he could have made. No matter how many times he would lock Kale in the Tower, she always found a way out. He gave up trying an eventually started praying that she would listen to him for once. Not that it ever succeeded.

**A/N: all right, another chapter. For those of you who are slow, Kale and Cyborg and Robin and Starfire are dating. Kale and Cyborg have been dating for a year and Rob and Star have been dating three months.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I LIKE COOKIES!!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Teen Titans there would be more episodes going out.**

The entire group of Teen Titans stood in front of the warehouse. They could hear the machines inside working overtime. Behind them, water lapped at the docks. Titans anxiously shuffled their feet, awaiting the order.

"Titans, Go!" Robin yelled out to his assembled friends.

They burst through the door. Cyborg, being one of the tallest, could see right over his friend's heads. He did not like what he saw.

He saw green webbed skin. The person laughed throatily and held up a yellow pitchfork. It was Triton, back from the watery crypt they had left him in. Cyborg growled mentally.

As one, the Titans tried to fling themselves on him all at once, but there was a barrier. They all flew back and hit the metal door. Cyborg swallowed blood and looked up.

Fluorescent, round objects were being turned out of the machines. Cyborg caught a look of one that had accidentally been turned over. Within, he saw a dark smudge the size of small child. A webbed green hand reached out. His heart sinking, Cyborg came to the conclusion. The machines were building a miniature army of Tritons!

Some of what Cyborg now recognized as eggs looked as if they were about to open. He aimed to blast them, but Bee's scream came first. His head whipped around to look at her, and followed her line of sight. His stomach dropped.

Aqualad was stuck in the barrier. Lines of electric light sparked and cracked around him like whips. He was writhing in pain and his eyes had rolled back into his head. He was screaming, but the barrier was creating some type of white noise affect, stealing his voice away. Worse, some of the Titans were rousing and had not seen that there friend was trapped.

They starting another attack, and before Cyborg could yell to stop them, they were blown back again, this time more forcefully. Cyborg checked the force field, and thanked an unknown power that no one else was trapped within it. He knew there was a big battle ahead, most likely a dangerous one.

_For the love of god, Kale, stay away, please, stay away._



Kale hesitated, as she always did, with the water. She had learned that she swam exceptionally well, but every time the water touched her skin… it was like an electric shock went through her. Not only that, but she could see, like a part of a dream she could not quite remember, glowing wind and water all around her and then… the episode would pass, leaving her dizzy and wondering. It was something she had learned and even grown used to.

_They've been gone far too long for this to be a simple mission. There is a problem. _She considered staying back because of the danger, as Cyborg had told her to so many times before, but shook her head. _They are my friends. I might not have powers, but I'm helpful, damn it._ She grinned to herself. _If it seems like something I can't handle, I'll just stay back. _She recited the old justification (which she used every time she went on a mission that Cyborg did not want her on) to herself.

Kale plunged fully clothed into the water, glad she had touched the water beforehand. The electric shock she would have received would have left her breathless. She had a theory that the closer the temperature was to whatever it was in her 'dream', or the texture, or _something, _that increased the ferocity of the water's jolt.

This was not the time. She swam quickly across to the other side.

Reaching the other side, she looked to the sky, looking for trouble as Robin and Beast Boy had taught her. Her heart dropped at the sight of black smoke coming from the direction of the warehouses. Usually, smoke did come from that side of town, but today was Saturday, and all the workers have off. She got into a racing position. Kale liked to admit; she was fast even when she was not in the water. Water resistance and a year of running on a daily basis did that to a girl. She took off, glad she did not have to use a taxi.

She found the warehouse easily; it was the one with all the banging. Her stomach hurt with all the nervousness building. Like an omen, the smoke was circling the warehouses on the other side of town. She slowed near the warehouse that had the door open, glad for the break. The acid had burned off a while ago, so her legs hurt when she stopped. Still, if she did not stop she would be more of a hindrance than help.

Kale took in the sight before her. Beyond the banging, the smoke was billowing out in clouds from all openings. This had to be it, and if it was, why were the Titans not running out, or putting the fire out. She worried for her friends even more.

Having caught her second wind, Kale walked slowly towards the building, ready to bolt and throw herself into the water if she had to. When nothing came out to eat her, she peeked in.

The sight that met her felt like a physical blow. Titans were scattered everywhere, making a forceful efforts in groups of two to six to break the barrier. There was a man with green webbed skin behind the blue-misted barrier. He was laughing, his chest heaving with his triumphant mirth. Aqualad was trapped within the barrier, and bolts of energy would cut through him. Worse (to her) there was no sign of Cyborg.

Something stirred within in Kale. She clutched her chest. She felt a rage she had never experienced before. A shock went through her, like the one she felt when she touched water. She fell to the ground, trying to get the feeling out of her chest by rubbing and beating at it. She grit her teeth against the pain.

Kale blacked out.



Cyborg was coughing from the smoke coming from a busted machine. His mouth filled with blood from a cut on his tongue, but his was lucky for his nearly-indestructible metal frame. Many of his friends supported broken bones and long gashes. Aquald was still stuck within the barrier, his mouth wide with his unheard screams.

Cyborg heard Bee shout to him. He turned his heart dropping. Bee was screaming as Kale stepped into the warehouse. His praying had been for naught, and now Kale was in worse danger than ever before. _NO! _He felt like he had been punched in the gut.

Then he saw her eyes.

Blue-white and glowing.

Kale stepped forward, her hair whipping around her in a harsh wind that filled the room, flattening the Titans. She raised and spread her arms. Cyborg watched as storm-winds and leaves enveloped her, streaming in from the outside. He raised himself against the winds, which by now flattened even the strongest of Titans. The water raced around her body.

Cyborg reached for her, but was blown backwards by water, which had been sucked up by the miniature tornado Kale had been creating.

He called out to her, and a leaf was stuffed into his mouth by blowing winds.

He tried to touch her and was fiercely slapped away.

Kale could not recognize him.

The wind glowed the same color as her eyes as Kale brought the wind, water and leaves around her. She was hurled up into the sky. The erratic winds concentrated around Kale. Soon she was invisible from the waist down. Her friends tried to help her escape, fearing for her safety, but the water (which was too heavy to be brought into the twister) smacked them back. The pillar of wind and leaves started to waver, and curved in the middle.

Kale brought her hands together in front of her and the column plunged towards Triton. She went right past the barrier as if it were not there. Aqualad fell to the ground, twitching and unconscious, but none could tear their eyes from Kale.

She hit Triton, and the wind crushed him to the steel wall. The pods from the machines were pulled with her, and all of them crashed into the wall, splattering on to the floor as if they were eggs.

Kale was the first to stand. She took Triton's triton and put it to his chest. Triton froze as he got up and glared at her. She growled dangerously, her eyes still glowing.

When she spoke, her voice held a thousand angry whispers, low and terrifying, "Triton, you've walked this earth a free creature long enough. By the Zephyrian Courts and the Law of the Forest, I place you under arrest."

She drew the triton up, and thick, brown—things shot up from the ground. Cyborg covered his eyes, fully expecting a massacre. When he slowly opened them again, he saw that the 'things' were roots that had expertly tied Triton so he could not move and was vastly uncomfortable, but had not pierced flesh.

Starting, Cyborg realized guiltily that he had taken his eyes away from Kale. He looked to her now, almost hoping that all of that had come from someone else, that his Kale was still at home, safe, and waiting for his return.

But no, Kale was there, and standing, her face slightly dragined and her hands shaking as she stared off into space. She wavered and swayed, the ethereal light draining from her eyes. Cyborg pushed himself up and ran to catch her under the arms, but his mechanical legs gave out and he ended up kneeling with her head in his lap. Her eyes refocused. She sat up slightly, though Cyborg kept his hands on her back, supporting her. She took one long look at the wall, Triton and the broken pods. She swiveled her head to look Cyborg in the eye.

"Dude, I am so not cleaning that up."

And then she fell unconscious.

**A/N: Whoohoo, new twist!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Yeah…**

**Disclaimer: How many times have you read "I do not own Teen Titans"? Seriously, I want an estimate.**

"Her heartbeat is normal," Raven said glancing at Kale's medical chart.

"And she does not seem to have any injuries," Starfire added.

"So… why isn't she waking up?" Beast Boy asked tentatively.

"Because something's wrong," Cyborg said darkly, casting a glare about the room. He friends lowered their heads in submission.

They were in the Titans infirmary. Kale and Aqualad slept in beds side-by-side. Their heart meters were running evenly, there was no internal bleeding within either of them, no brain damage, no organ failure and no obvious permanent damage. Aqualad had third-degree burns all over his torso and arms, and his seizure after he had been freed from the barrier had pulled a muscle in one of his legs.

"Guys, we've got things to do, let's go file the reports," Robin said after a moment's silence.

Cyborg watched them go, and trained his eyes on Kale's monitor, daring anything to break pattern.

He watched Titans West go, after announcing that they were sending Speedy and Mas and Menos back while Bee waited. He trained his eyes back on Kale's still form.

He watched Aqualad go, a few hours later, when he was able to walk on his own. He rolled his muscles and kept his eyes on Kale.

He watched the night go as dawn's pink fingers touched the horizon, and still he trained his eyes on Kale.

It was not as simple as that, though. He dutifully watched Kale, but he thought about what he had seen in the warehouse. A whirling tornado starting on a cloudless autumn day? No likely at all. One of the Titans could have been manipulating Kale, but then he had cause to be furious, and he doubted that any of his friends (even the most radical ones) would have put her at that amount of risk.

No, there was no denying it, Kale had power.

But what kind? Where had it come from? Did she even know that she had it? Was she a spy? Had this past year been a lie? If so, why had she protected them?

He pondered these questions late into the night, and well after his head began to pound incessantly, before deciding in the morning that he would have to wait until Kale woke up to get them.



Kale felt as if she was floating in darkness. She remembered that her clothes had been whipping around her quickly, as if she had been in the middle of a storm. Her body throbbed with each beat of her heart but there was no pain.

She felt as if the breath coming in through her mouth was not real, and tried to breathe deeper. It did not help. She took in air until she felt as if her lungs were about to burst, but still she felt as if it was just blowing through her. It was not a bad feeling, just… not normal. She took another breath and felt energy being restored to her. Another and a little more energy was given. So it was a waiting game, then.

She breathed in and out for what felt like hours, though really it could have been minutes. She counted the amount of breaths it took until she could clench her fingers. Twenty-three. Until she could lift a single finger. Twelve more.

She thought she could feel someone running their fingers through her hair. It was a man, and he was whispering to her. Something warm and wet ran down her face, tinkling her and making her want to squirm.

"Please Kale, please make it through this. Please," a strained a distraught voice reached her, though the darkness surrounding her muffled it.

There was a man pleading with her to survive. Why? She had no one, right? She was alone in… where, again? Ithaca? No. Barcelona? Probably not. It smelled different. She was somewhere else, somewhere different. She remembered a long trip on a boat, because she did not want to go on a plane.

Kale's eyes fluttered open. She sat up, holding her head. It ached. "Ugg… what's going on?" She was lying in a hospital bed. She looked around the room. It was white and clean, but she did not recognize it.

"Where am I?" she asked the tiled ceiling, not expecting an answer.

"Kale, are you all right?" Someone's voice came from the other end of the room.

Kale moved her head, her neck a little stiff, toward the voice's owner. He was tall, extremely tall and half-robot. Kale frowned.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

The man gaped, finding something amazing. "You mean, you don't remember me?"

Kale blinked and reached for who he was. Nothing came. She frowned further, and reached for where she was last night. Nothing. She looked for her job, for her favorite pizza store, for her friends in her mind, but found nothing. She looked at the mechanical man, her eyes getting wide as panic welled within her.

She whispered, "I can't remember anything…"

"Kale," the man began pleadingly, "Kale, please. It's me, Cyborg."



Cyborg watched as Kale's eyes immediately darkened as soon as he uttered his name. Recently, Kale's eyes had been looking darker than they ever had and when she had first woken up, Cyborg had noticed, her eyes were lighter than when he had first met her. Now, they had changed again and he was worried he had made her condition even worse.

After a moment of staring at Cyborg as if he were an alien (or something much worse, as she had met and befriended many aliens at that point), Kale screamed and clutched her head. She shook frightfully and the green lines on her heart monitor jumped of the scale.

"Kale!" Cyborg reached out to touch her, but was unsure what to do.

She moved away from him.

A few minutes later, the fit had passed and she was sleeping soundly again. He heard quiet talking in the hall, and Raven entered the room. Cyborg turned to his friend helplessly.

"What's going on with her?" he asked, his eyes desperately searching hers for an answer.

Raven shook her head, "She's obviously not human. She could have a disease that is communal to her species or she could have experience something traumatic and her brain has become accustomed to blocking out her memory."

Cyborg bit his tongue. He did not like that answer. Raven noticed how tense Cyborg was and motioned to the cot Aqualad had vacated approximately twelve hours before.

"You should sleep."

"No," Cyborg said firmly.

Raven looked at him hard, "Sleep. I'll wake you if Kale's condition changes."

Cyborg watched her, and, deciding that she was not trying to trick him into resting, lay on the cot. He tried to keep his eyes open, but as soon as his head hit the soft pillow, his mechanical brain took over and he was snoring in seconds.

**A/N: I know it's been awhile, I'm sorry. Review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Yay! We finally get to see what happens to Kale! Well… you do. Me… well, I already knew.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. That was really hard to type since my middle finger is bandaged up.**

"Cyborg," Cyborg moaned and turned about in his sleep, clinging at the last vestiges of the dream.

He had been at a picnic in the park with all of his friends. Beast Boy had sucked mustard up his nose. He and Kale had snuck behind…

Kale!

Cyborg sat up fast, cracking his back. He ignored the pain that the uncomfortable sound was sure to produce. Raven was at his bedside.

"Kale's heartbeat and respiration are speeding up; she'll be awake in a few seconds," Raven said simply before exiting the room.

"Cyborg?"

Cyborg's head whipped around quickly when he heard the small voice. Kale was sitting up in bed, looking nervous. Her cheeks had pinkened a bit since he'd last seen her (though it could have been the fading colors of the day), but she still looked a bit ill. Her hands were clutching the white sheets tightly.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Cyborg cleared his throat and began to say, "Are—"

"Cyborg, why couldn't I remember you?" Kale interrupted, looking very distraught.

Cyborg hesitated a moment before reporting, "As far as we can see, there is nothing wrong with your head and there's nothing wrong with your organs." Cyborg stopped, hesitant to bring up the topic. "It seems that you have these powers…"

Kale nodded, "I couldn't remember it when I first woke up; I couldn't remember a lot of things. Then you said your name and everything came back," she glanced at him, smiling wryly, "do you know weird it feels to relive years of your memory in a few hours?"

Cyborg did not want to push the subject, but he knew that if he did not ask, he would not be able to later. "Is it possible that two years ago, you used these powers and lost your memory then too?"

Kale blinked before she said slowly, "Anything's possible. Two years ago, I woke in Ithaca with no memories. A woman saying something jogged waking up on the cliff, but not much else. From Ithaca, I came here. Now I'm waking up without memories again." Fear entered her eyes, "Cyborg, what if this keeps happening? I don't want to loose everything!"

Cyborg instinctually went to his girlfriend's side, noticing the signs of tears right away. They sat on the bed for only a little while before Kale's sobs had subsided. She brushed away the tears and sat up straight, smiling crookedly.

"Well, crying's not going to help anything, is it?" she said in her business-like way that told Cyborg she did not want to talk about it right now. "We'll do what we can and move on." She clapped her hands on her thighs and looked up determinedly. "Okay! You've got an extra set of my clothes, right?" She swung her legs out of the bed, as lively as ever.

She left the room without a word, leaving Cyborg slightly befuddled. He followed her into the hall and noticed that she took a side hall to get to the bedroom section of the Tower, avoiding the living room, where everyone was most likely waiting to hear the news.

Cyborg followed her to his room, where she pulled out a set of clothes she kept at the Tower just in case she fell asleep there or for an occasion such as this. She began tugging at the hem of her shirt before noticing Cyborg. She chased him out of his own room, yelling, "Out!" the whole way.

Cyborg huffed and leaned against the wall. A few minutes later, Kale appeared again. She was wearing jeans and a sleeveless crimson button-up shirt (top two buttons undone). Her hair was tied up and she was smiling. She looked a bit healthier.

"Let's go. I need a pizza," Kale said impatiently before starting towards the living room.

Behind her, Cyborg smiled. Some things never changed. They walked out to the living room, where Kale was immediately hugged by Starfire and Beast Boy. She called out in protest, which only succeeded in getting her hugged tighter.

Cyborg smiled at her loud protests and surveyed the room for his other friends. Raven was not there (not that he suspected her to be). Robin was sitting at the table. Cyborg's smile shrunk minutely when he saw someone with bandages wrapped around their on the couch. He silently summoned Robin over to him.

"What's Aqualad still doing here?" he whispered.

"He said he needed to talk to Kale," Robin replied.

"Has he been waiting since yesterday?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah. He slept on the couch and said he already contacted Bee about it."

"Hey dudes," both men jumped. They had not heard Kale come over. "Aqualad's still here. What's up?"

Robin glanced at Cyborg, indicating for him to tell her. Cyborg said, "He said he needed to talk to you."

Cyborg looked at Kale, looking for an answer as to why Aqualad would need to speak to her. She shrugged. Cyborg and the others kept their distance as Kale approached Aqualad.



Kale approached Aqualad. He was staring out the window as the waves almost longingly. When she was next to him, or rather the coffee table that was right in front of her, she waited for him to speak. He continued to stare out at the horizon.

"Aqualad?" she whispered, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

His attention seemed to smack back into focus. He blinked, as if he had been sleeping, and his eyes focused on Kale. She smiled at him, sitting down next to the man on the couch. The moment her bottom touched the couch, however, Aqualad plopped himself down on the floor next to her. She frowned and did likewise. Aqualad's expression became nervous, and he moved to bow his head. Kale frowned, a line appearing in her stubborn brow.

"Dude, what are you doing?"

Aqualad was surprised, she could tell, but he hid it well. "I am merely remembering my place, your Grace."

Kale cocked her head, "Your Grace?" she repeated frankly. "Okay, I'll go along with it. Why are you calling me Grace?"

Aqualad's surprise grew, "Lady Aster, do you not remember the Zephyrian Courts?"



As Cyborg watched Kale and Aqualad, he felt as if something was not right. They shuffled about for a few moments and finally got to talking. Dark looks crossed Kale's face as Aqualad spoke. Finally, Aqualad said something that caused Kale to freeze.

Cyborg was running before he knew what he was doing. He hurtled over the couch and caught Kale before she hit the ground. She was shaking and her eyes were rolling back into her head. A moment later, he was roughly pushed aside by Raven.

"Move the table and don't touch her; she's having a seizure."

As the team hurried to do her bidding, Cyborg lifted Aqualad by his shirt. "What did you do?" he asked angrily.

Before Aqualad could answer, Raven said loudly, "Cyborg!"

Cyborg turned his attention to her, his mind racing. Raven looked at him dispassionately, refusing to speak until her calmed down. He slowly lowered Aqualad to the floor. Finally, Raven spoke.

"She's remembering."

**A/N: Review!**

**Anyone who wants to check out a personal story I did myself, I have the prolouge up for a story I'm doing called 'Fallon's Fight' on deviantart .com under the name 'elpmip'. Some keywords (if you're having trouble finding it) are 'fantasy', 'fallon', 'lilth', 'fight' or 'insanity'.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Did anyone bother to check out my story on deviantart?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

Cyborg did not stay by Kale's side this time.

He felt guilty, but he could not handle it anymore. The drama, the sickness, the fear. It was too much to bear. So, after depositing Kale in the sickbay, he headed to his room, calling out behind him that he was tired; trying to ignore the sad stares his friends gave his back.

He laid on his metal 'bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to claim him. When it did not, his thoughts slowly drifted from the dreams he was trying to force himself to have.

_What could Kale be? Why can't she just be normal? Hell, is anyone I know normal? I knew she was too good to be true. _

As his thoughts began straying down this path, Cyborg growled. He was not being fair to her, he knew, but he did not seem to have the energy to care at this point. All he wanted to do was slepp forever. Or at least until all of this was cleared up. Concentrating, he delved into his manual actions and found his energy switch. He set the timer to allow him to wake up eight hours from then. He lay back down and watched his robotic parts turn gray in the polished ceiling before darkness overtook him.

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Kale opened her eyes slowly. Her head felt heavy, but she knew that was just because she had taken in a massive amount of information in the past few hours. It was not an easy transition, having only vague memories to knowing everything she could ever want, crystal clear and indisputable.

So… here she was. The weight of everything she now remembered pressed heavily upon her. She felt guilty and angry and unwanted. But that was in the past now, right? Her friends were always going to be there for her.

Right?

With a groan, she raised herself onto her elbows. She felt, rather than saw, movement around her. The sides of her bed were lined with her friends; Robin with his arm around Starfire to her left, Raven and Beast Boy (whose hand was unconsciously covering Raven's comfortingly) on her right, and Aqualad at the end of her bed. Her brow furrowed. Someone was missing.

_Cyborg. _Kale thought. She was unsure of what to make of this, but did not have time to dwell on it. Her friends were worriedly asking her if she was okay, and what was going on.

She smiled weakly; putting both of her hands up to silence her friend's concerned questions and exclamations. "I'm fine." As everyone quieted down, she said quietly, "I have regained my memories of my past." Kale looked about the room. "Where's Cyborg?"

Suddenly, the room was very quiet indeed. When she tried to meet the eyes of… _anyone_, they suddenly found something much more interesting to look at. As Robin and Starfire exchanged a certain _look_, Kale knew with sinking certainty.

"I see," she said quietly, looking at her hands.

Her whole body felt numb and hollow. She wanted to be angry, but she could not be. She had no right to expect Cyborg to stay up all night for her (especially since he had already done that not twenty four hours ago). Still, it felt as if her waking and him not being there had some sort of significance, as if there was a finality to it.

Slowly, deliberately, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, causing Beast Boy to take a step back. She looked to the ground for a few moments longer than necessary, almost not believing that she was the one moving. When she lifted her head, she knew her eyes were watering. However, when she spoke, her voice was strong and sure.

"I'm going home. Aqualad," The young man looked at her almost guiltily, "will you explain things?" Aqualad nodded his affirmative. She forced a smile, "Bye everyone! I'll see you later."

And then she walked out, as if it was just another day.

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As soon as the door closed behind Kale's back, Aqualad felt all eyes in the room turn of him with an almost predatory gaze. He swallowed dryly before clearing his throat. "It's a long story; let's get out of here."

When they had established themselves in the living room, the team on the couch and Aqualad sitting on the coffee table, there was absolute silence. Aqualad rested his arms on his knees and put his head to his hands. He knew Kale's story by heart; anyone who lived in Atlantis did. However, he had never actually _told_ it to anyone, and the events that took place were spread out and happened in groups; fact and fiction melded with the tale often, but he knew at least some of the facts.

Without looking up at the group he began to speak in a low, trance-like voice, "There are certain behaviors expected of those in a position of nobility. These behaviors rule their lives completely, like iron-tight laws. Most who find themselves trapped inside these laws resent them, and occasionally break a small one to give them a short thrill. However," it was at this point Aqualad laced his fingers together, flattened them, and pressed his face (just beneath the nose) to them, "there are certain rules that should not… should _never_ be broken."

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The wind blew in Kale's hair as hot tears squeezed their way out of the corners of her eyes. She stepped, and her foot did not connect with solid rock. She looked down. However just above the surface of the rocky beach, as if on an invisible step, was her foot. Her heart sank.

She began to run, and not once did her feet touch the ground.

**A/N: Review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: HI!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

A feeling of dread, as if they were watching a horror movie at its most climatic scene, stretched to everyone in the room as Aqualad's voice, which had deepened considerably over the years, continued his story.

"When these rules are broken… terrible, terrible things can happen. Things that people will still feel the effects of many years later." Aqualad's eyes were shadowed as he said darkly, "Kale Aster is one of those effects."

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Kale ran over buildings and across water. Her lungs stung as she sucked in cold air as fast and as hard as she could. Something terrible had happened. She hated everything. The sky, the ground, the universe. She wished it would all be sucked up into a horrible black hole.

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"There are four lands that normal people don't know about. Those that do know about them, choose to ignore that knowledge. The four lands represent the four core elements, water, fire, earth and air. There is Atlantis, of course, and another realm at the center of Ring of Fire in the Caribbean. The other two are more spread out, having one singular capital city, but citizens that you could in any human town or city. These people either follow the Law of the Land, founded deep in the jungles of Brazil, or the Zephyrian Courts, which are based in the mountains in the Himalayas, at the highest peaks."

"Each of the four lands is governed by a group of people. Unfortunately, this group of people is a royal family with absolute power, meaning there is nothing stopping any royal family from decreeing war against another. A few hundred years ago, the Ring of Fire and the Law of the Land people were locked in a battle which started as an argument between princesses over a boy."

Aqualad paused until Beast Boy's and Starfire's cries of indignation quieted down.

"So, as expected, all of the unsaid laws are followed almost religiously." A pained look crossed Aqualad's face. "But… teenagers will be teenagers. You remember how some of our friends were, going out by themselves, quitting the team?" Everyone nodded. "Well, the royal sons and daughters were always taught that had a divine right to do and have whatever they want. Naturally, when the families throw lavish parties for each other, the princes and princesses are bound to meet."

"The people of the Ring of Fire are… less than attractive. Atlantis produces, in my opinion, very beautiful people but some may find us… a little too feminine. The Zephyrian people are… gorgeous. Unearthly in their beauty; perfect bone structure, perfect skin, and _very _interesting, beautiful eyes," Aqualad met eyes with each of his friends. The nodded understandingly. "The Brazil lineage is known to produce very rugged, very handsome manly men."

Aqualad's face darkened and he refused to look at his friends, instead glaring at his clenched fists. "It is said that the first time the princess of the Zephyrians and the prince of the Law of the Land a hush went over the entire room."

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Honestly, how could one be burning and freezing at the same time? Kale's leg muscles screamed as she ran across the city, yet her chest felt like a giant, icy hand had reached in and squeezed.

She ran across the buildings of the city, unsure of where to go. She could not go home, wherever that meant anymore. She jumped, an impossible distance, to another building. Tears flew out behind her. Maybe she could just keep running. Running forever, into oblivion.



"Rumors say that Kale was conceived that night. Logically, of course, that could not have been the case until at least six months after. Mind you, having a child between countries is neither against the written or unwritten rules, though it is frowned upon."

"But there are some things that royalty just don't do. And having a child (who is frowned on in the first place) out of wedlock is one of those things. Normally, anything that would have brought strain between countries and shame to a royal family is taken care of discreetly and everyone else simply turns the other way and pretends it never happened."

"However, the Zephyrians, for all their beauty, are a very frail people. Their bones break easily and they catch rare diseases faster than you can imagine. So, when the princess' little _problem_ came about, there were complications and nothing could be done. Kale Aster would be born."



This was it. She was running over the river. She hurt all over; physically and mentally. She could not go any farther. Her legs would give out. Her heart would stop any minute now. This was it…



"Things could have been fine, but the young prince was betrothed to a noble woman back home and the princess was… less than friendly. The first few months were okay, but rumors say that as the princess's pregnancy developed, and she became more difficult. The prince began wandering around the palace, and, being the man that he was, taking full advantage of his fiancée's absence."

"Arguments began to break out between the prince and princess and the Council (a group of very wise men and women from all four of the countries) decided it would be best if the young prince was sent home. For awhile, everything went smoothly, though the people of the Zephyrian Courts and those that followed the Laws of the Land were expectantly cold to each other."

"Then they began to ascend to the throne. The princess was first, and she began to throw extravagant parties, to show off her new daughter and to see if the father would come. He did, every time and, every time, they would begin arguments. Sometimes over petty things, and sometimes over Kale."

"See, Kale, like many born from two different tribes, had attributes from both sides of the family. Bones of the Land and eyes of the Courts and powers from both. Each side argued over where she would live because that is who she would fight for during a war. Everyone wanted her, not just the Zephyrians and those that followed the Law. She could be an amazing ambassador and keep wars from breaking out. But the stress was too much for a preteen and teenager. When she was old enough, perhaps nine or ten, Kale started running away."

"Most of the time, the Zephyrian guards would catch her and bring her back in a calm and gentle way… or as gently as one can expect to be with a preteen with supernatural powers. Then, once, her father's men caught her, and they were not so gentle."

"There was a bad scuffle, and Kale's powers matured before she was ready; she was out for thirty six hours. Needless to say, the Zephyrian princess was, well, pissed. And, as expected, she started a war with her ex-lover's country. The war raged on for years, until Kale was a young teenager."



Kale kept coughing. Her face stung where tears had dried. Her teeth ground together until her gums stung. Between her pants and coughs, she hiccupped. She felt as if her head was on fire with all the thinking she was doing and trying to get away from.

Her feet would drag against the ground every so often, and once she tripped. She knew she could not keep going for very long, but she did not want to stop. Maybe she could run until she died…



"It is said that Kale and a few of her friends, from all sides of the four countries, formed a group that protested the war by rising anger in the lower parts of their country. Some say she did it by herself and people followed her example. Personally, I think it is a mixture of the two. Regardless, when it seemed that her mother was going to march on her father's capital, Kale gathered her team. In numbered in the hundreds, though it was nowhere near the size of the either the Zephyrian army or the army of the Forest."

"Still, they marched, hoping to stop the battle. All were young and foolish. The Law of the Forest murdered all the children of the other countries on sight and dragged away the people of their own country, to be tortured and exiled later. As for Kale, she was left immobile; the word is that her arms and legs were broken as she was beaten badly. Regardless, she was left on the hill and could not stop what happened next."

"The Zephyrian army advanced on the Forest army, who, though more vicious, was at a major disadvantage. The Zephyrians, should they get into a fight they could not handle, could fly away and they had more updated technology. The Forest dwellers did not have a chance, but they were too hard-headed to retreat and call and end to the war."

"A great tradition within the Forest peoples' culture is for the governing king of the country to lead them into battle. Not one to break tradition (excluding his little escapade that started this whole mess), Kale's father entered battle. However, he saw his daughter and began to move towards her, possibly to save her from the fighting that was going on around her broken body. However, turning your back on a battle that is going on right behind you is not the wisest of ideas. As he came closer to Kale, a Zephyrian soldier noticed him from the air and attacked. He never stood a chance."

"Kale saw her father murdered in front of her very eyes by a soldier she had probably gone to school with. Within hours, she had lost everything; he home, her people, her followers and now her father. Rage built up within her until her powers bubbled to the surface, bringing tornados from all directions and causing mudslides. No one was spared."

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Kale fell at the edge of a cliff. She could not take it anymore. Moonlight glinting off her tears, she took in her last shallow breath and let out a long anguished scream.



Cyborg opened his eyes. Sleep was good for a stressed mind. He stretched and jumped up from his steel bed, feeling as if he could take on the whole world. Cracking his neck, he exited his room and made his was down the hallway.

As he entered the living room he yawned, "Evening, guys."

Immediately he stopped short. The air in the room was tense. Everyone was sitting on the couch except for Aqualad, who was sitting on the table. Robin was holding a crying Starfire and Beast Boy was hanging his head. No one looked at him. Cyborg felt his stomach drop.

"Guys?" he asked quietly.

Finally, Beast Boy stood and turned around to look at him. His face looked miserable, and just a little teary.

"Cyborg, dude. We've got something to tell you."

**A/N: Review!**


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